LIBRARY Of CONGRESS. 



Shelf 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



FIRST AMERICAN 



^attyoliepil^rima^ 



TO- 



Pf\LBSTINE, 

1889. 



-BY- 



REV. JAMES PFEIFFER. 



,m:-.H SEP 34 1892 ) 

JOS. BERNING & C<Xr^C - 
Cincinnati, O. 



Copyright, 1892 
By Key. JAMES PFEIFFER. 



DEDICATED 

— TO — 

OTin PILGEIMS. 



PREFACE. 



iP^INCE the First American Catholic Pilgrim- 
age to Palestine was so grand, memorable, 
and ever blissful, and, as the title says, the 
first one of this great Country of ours, since the 
400 years of its discovery, I time and again 
thought to myself that its history ought to be 
written, and therefore, since none, more able than 
myself, have done so, I hereby, dear reader, will 
give you its history. For a christian and more 
so, a catholic, the dangerous journey to the Holy 
Land is the most interesting of all travels. There 
the learned find a large field for their researches, 
whilst the pious christian can scarcely move a 
step without meeting a sanctuary, or a monu- 
ment familiar to him by name, but venerated from 
a great distance only. Words are not adequate, 
much less am I able to express the sweet emo- 
tions, the holy raptures of the christian soul 
when, in presence of the places where he reads 



vi. 

the short but comprehensive words: "Here is 
the spot where stood the manger in which was 
laid the Infant Son of God;' 5 or, "Here the Word 
was made Flesh.' ' Who does not burst out in 
tears of joy, when pressing his lips on the sacred 
stone of the Holy Sepulchre ; who can remain 
unmoved at the sight of Calvary, whereon took 
place the final scene of that awful drama, and 
what thoughts of regeneration do not refresh our 
minds, when we drink of Jordan's waters, when 
following the footsteps of Jesus along the shores 
of the beautiful I^ake of Tiberias, or when taking 
a boat-ride on it with Christ as it were. What 
genuine sensations does the traveler not experi- 
ence when he is winding his way along the zig- 
zag path of the lovely Thabor, or visiting so 
many other places, sanctified by the presence, 
and illustrated by so many miracles of our Sa- 
viour. 

These Holy Places, which are dear to every 
true christian, are still under the sway of Mo- 
hammedans, Turks, Schismatics Greeks, Arme- 



Vll. 

nians and Copts. If we would more fully realize 
this deplorable condition we would and ought to 
contribute more to the collection for the rescue 
of the Holy Places, which is ordered by our Rt. 
Rev. Bishops 'on Good Friday. It is this princi- 
pally, that induced me to write this book. That 
Almighty God may move the minds and hearts 
of the reader, is the sincere wish of 

The Author. 



CONTENTS. 



On Leaving New York, ... i 

List of Members, . . . 3 

Cherbourg, 12 

Paris, . . ♦ . . . .14 

Marseilles, 15 

Nick, ... 18 

Genoa, 19 

Pisa, . . 21 

FLORENCE . . ' . . 23 

Assisi, . . 25 

Rome, 30 

Monte Casino, . .. . . . .47 

Naples, . . ... . . 48 

Pompeii, * 51 

Alexandria, 56 

Cairo, . . . . ... . . 63 

ISMAIIylA, 81 

Suez Canal, 81 

Port Said, ... . . ■ . 82 



CONTENTS. ix. 

Jaffa, . . . . ; . .84 

IvYDDA, ....... 90 

Ramleh, 90 

IyATROUM, ...... 93 

History of Jerusalem, ... 98 
Our Trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, 139 

The Dead Sea, 144 

The Jordan, 146 

The Quarantine Mountain, . . 148 

Bethania, .149 

Bethlehem, 150 

Remarks about the present Jerusalem, 156 
Our Certificate of Jerusalem, . .158 

Bethel, = 159 

Naplous, . 161 

Nazareth, 169 

Mount Thabor. 172 

The Sea of Genesareth or Tiberias, 175 
Cana of Galilee, . ■ . . . .178 
Mount Carmel, . . . . 179 

St. John d'Acre, ..... 183 

Beyrout, 183 

The Island of Cyprus, . . . .185 



x. contents. 

Smyrna, 185 

Ephesus, . . . . . .186 

Smyrna (Continued), . . . 189 

The Dardanelles, . . . . 191 

Sea of Marmora, . . .... . 192 

Constantinople. . . . . , 192 

The Bosporus, 206 

Athens, (Greece.) . . . . . 207 

The Costumes of Greece, . . . 221 

The Gulf of Corinth or L,epanto, . 223 

Brindisi, 226 

IvOreto .227 

Venice, . . . . . . 230 

Milan, 233 

St. Gothard's Tunnel (Switzerland), 237 

IvAKE OF THE FOUR FOREST CANTONS, 239 

IvUCERNE, 240 

Mount Rigi, . , . . . . 243 

Maria Einsiedeln, . . . . 245 

Basel, 248 

Strasburg, 249 

Speyer, • . . . . . . 251 

Munich, . . . 252 



CONTENTS. xi. 

Nuremberg, . . . . .257 

WuERZBURG, . . . . 258 

Frankfort-on-the-Main, . . . 260 

Mentz, (Ger. Mainz ) . . 261 

The Rhine, 262 

Cologne 264 

Hamburg, . . . . . 266 



« 




ON LEAVING NEW YORK. 



~) ' New York city, the pilgrims all assembled 
at the beautiful residence of the Commissary of 
the Holy Land for the United States, the Very 
Rev. Chas. A. Vissani, O. S. F. 

Here each pilgrim received a silver medal, 
which w T as struck for the occasion, the obverse 
representing the Crucifixion on Calvary, with the 
inscription, "First American Pilgrimage to the 
Holy Land, 1889," while the reverse is decorated 
with the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, 
and the name of the pilgrim. On our reaching 
Jerusalem these medals were blessed on the Holy 
Sepulchre, and are now to each one a precious 
memento. 




2 



2 



ON LEAVING NEW YORK. 



A beautiful banner was furthermore procured 
by the Very Rev. Chas. A. Vissani, which the 
pilgrims, on their reaching Jerusalem, deposited 
at the Holy Sepulchre. Said banner has on the 
one side the figure of our Lord rising from the 
Sepulchre, with the words of Isaias, "And His 
Sepulchre shall be Glorious" \ on the other the 
American coat of arms and the inscription, "First 
American Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, 1889." 

After each one had his medal, the banner was 
blessed and a procession was formed, headed by 
the banner carried by Father Vissani, and the 
pilgrims thus marched to the grand cathedral, 
(said to be the finest church in America and to 
have cost three millions of dollars,) where the 
Rt. Rev. W. M. Wigger, D. D., bishop of New- 
ark, N. J., celebrated Mass, that the pilgrims 
might have a happy journey. Present in the 
sanctuary were: Mt. Rev. Michael A. Corri- 
GAN, D. D., archbishop of New York, and Rt. Rev. 
Joseph Rademacher, D. D., bishop of Nash- 
ville, Tenn. As the sacrifice of Mass was over, 
the Most Rev. Michael A. Corrigan ascended 
the pulpit and preached a ver}^ eloquent and 
appropriate sermon, his text being: "Here I 
stood." 



ON LEAVING NEW YORK. 



3 



In the afternoon those pilgrims, who had no 
passports, had them procured by Messrs. Cook 
& Son, the world-renowned tourists, who, with 
Father Vissani, organized and conducted the 
pilgrimage. The pilgrims purchased their round- 
trip tickets from Thos. Cook & Son, New York. 
For their surplus money they received letters 
of credit from Cook & Son, which were payable 
in all countries and at every point of the route, 
in the currency of the various countries through 
which the pilgrims passed. The usual allowance 
of 200 lbs. of baggage was made by the Steam- 
ship Companies, in Europe and in the East 60 lbs. 
were allowed each adult passenger. The next 
day, the 21st of February, at 10 o'clock A. M., 
the following pilgrims went on board of the 
steamer "Wieland" of the Hamburg- American 
Steamer Line, at Hoboken, N. J., and sailed for 
Cherbourg, (France) : 



LIST OF MEMBERS. 



FIRST SECTION. 



Rev. Anthony Arnold, 
Rev. Wendelin Guhl, . 
Rev. Adam F. Tonner, 
Rev. P. M. Kennedy, . . 



. . . New York City. 
Birmingham, Conn. 



Brooklyn, N. Y. 



4 



ON LEAVING NEW YORK. 



Rev. John Russell, . . 
Rev. A. G. Spierings, 

Rev, A. Hurly, 

Rev. J. J. Gabriel, . . 
Mr. Jacob Shandorf, . 
Mr. Patrick Lilly, 



. .New Haven, Conn. 

Keyport, N.J. 

, . . Rosemount, Minn. 

St. Leon, Ind. 

Manlius Station, N. Y. 
New York City. 



Mrs. C. P. Lilly, " 

Mr. John B. Manning, ......... " 

Master Robert Collier, " 

Mr. J. T. Michan, " 

Mrs. J. T. Michan, " 

Mr. Michael W. Costello, Boston, Mass. 

Mr. John P. Brady, Baltimore, Md. 

Mr. T. H. Bowes, Columbus, O. 

Mr. Jos. Donahue, Columbus, Miss. 

Miss Mary McFarland, Boston, Mass. 

Miss Bridget Kilkenny, 

Miss Annie Weaver, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Miss E. A. Ford, New York City. 

Miss Fannie Herle, Boston, Mass. 

Miss Mary Connelly, 

Miss Julia Harrington, Charlestown, Mass. 

Miss Annie Doherty, " " 

Miss A. E. F. Brewer, Philadelphia, Pa. 

Miss F. G. Snyder, 

Miss E. McCarthy, Denver, Col. 



ON LEAVING NKW YORK. 5 

Miss Helen Dannemille, Canton, O. 

Miss Mary F. Deveny, Boston, Mass. 

SECOND SECTION. 

Rev. F. Bender, Pueblo, Col. 

Rev. Lucas Gottbehoede, O. S. F., Cincinnati, O. 

Rev. J. T. Durward, Baraboo, Wis. 

Rev. J. J. Dunn, Meadville, Pa. 

Rev. J. Buckley, Beaver Dam, Wis.' 

Mr. Jas. Lee, Plymouth, Pa 

Mr. Theodore Mottu, Baltimore, Md. 

Mr. Jas. C. Connor, Chicago, 111. 

Mr. Frank Headen, 

Mr. Daniel McCann, 

Mr. Wm. P. Ginther, Akron, O. 

Mr. Wm. Byrne, Jacksonville, Fla. 

Mrs. Wm. Byrne, " " 

Mrs. Jane Nolan, " " 

Miss Alice Byrne, " " 

Miss Mary Jane Byrne. . " " 

Miss S. Iy. Burke, Philadelphia, Pa. 

THIRD SECTION. 

Rt. Rev. W. M. Wigger, D. D., Bishop of 

Newark, N. J. 
Rt. Rev. Joseph Rademacher. D. D., Bishop of 

Nashville, Tenn. 



6 



ON LEAVING NKW YORK. 



Rt. Rev. Monsignor Seton, . . . .Jersey City, N. J. 
Very Rev. Chas. A. Vissani, ... New York City. 
Very Rev. John F. Fierens, V. G., Portland, Ore. 

Rev. M. J. Phelan, New York City. 

Rev. James Pfeiffer, Enochsburg, Ind. 

Rev. John Walsh, Troy, N. Y. 

Rev. J. M. Nardiello, Bloomfield, N. J. 

Rev. Frederick Kivelitz, Freehold, N. J. 

Rev. L. C. Carroll Jersey City, N. J. 

Rev. W. P. Cantwell, Metuchen, N. J. 

Rev. J. C. Dunn, ' Newark, N. J. 

Rev. J. A. O'Grady, New Brunswick, N. J. 

Rev. M. E. Kane, Red Bank, N. J. 

Rev. M. Carroll, Allegheny City, Penn. 

Rev. Geo. Meyer Fryburg, Pa. 

Rev. Christopher Hughes, .... Fall River, Mass. 

Rev. P. J. Harkins, . . . , Holyoke, Mass. 

Rev. J. J. Keogh, Milwaukee, Wis. 

Rev. Stephen Traut, Racine, Wis. 

Very Rev. H. Robinson, V. G., . . Leadville, Col. 

Rev. H. J. Rousseau, Ispheming, Mich. 

Rev. F. J. Blanc, Pass Christian, Miss. 

Rev. John Harty, Providence, R. I. 

Rev. John Koeberle, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Mr. Jas. T. Quinn, Albany, N. Y. 

Mr. James C. Farrell, .. 



ON LEAVING NEW YORK. 



7 



Mr. A. Neupert, 
Mr. Chas. Bork, 
Mr. John Ford, . 



New York City. 



Buffalo, N. Y. 



Mr. J. Herbert Ledwith, " 

Mr. Alois Muller, " 

Mr. Joseph F. Ismay, " " " 

Mr. Wm. Noonan, Elizabethport, N. J. 

Mrs. M. Noonan, , . „ 

Mr. C. P. Harkins, Newton, Mass. 

Mr. Patrick Coyle, Waterbury, Conn. 

Mr. Jos. Lefebre, St. Paul, Minn. 

Mr. Louis Dion, " " 

Mr. John H. Hoebiug, Wall Lake, Iowa. 

Dr. Wm. E. Carroll, Jersey City, N. J 

Miss Elizabeth C. McCartin, 

Miss Isabel T. McCartin, " " 

Miss Katie Daly, 

Miss C. Quinn, Albany, N. Y. 

Miss Carrie Cantwell, Fall River, Mass. 

Miss Catherine Harkings, Holyoke, Mass. 

Miss Grace M. Harkins, " " 

Miss Annie Carroll, Alleghen}' City, Pa. 

Miss Josephine J. McCall, New York City. 

Miss Marie F. Farnham, " " u 



8 



ON LEAVING NKW YORK. 



The pilgrims were divided, as you will per- 
ceive from the above, into three sections, that is 
to say, all left New York on the same steamer 
with the intention to remain together until they 
had reached and viewed Jerusalem and the im- 
portant points surrounding it. 

On the journey to Jerusalem we first visited 
Paris, then Marseilles, Nice, Genoa, Pisa, Flor- 
ence, Assisi, Rome, Naples, Alexandria, Cairo, 
the Pyramids, Ismailia, the Suez Canal, Port-Said, 
Jaffa, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the Dead Sea, the 
river Jordan and Jericho. 

After this the first section left for New York 
via Jaffa, Alexandria, Genoa, Turin, Mount Cenis 
Tunnel, Paris and Havre, an attractive trip of 
eighty-four days. A very good and praiseworthy 
arrangement Cook & Son made with the pil- 
grims — any one of either section could branch 
off and leave the party at any time ; some 
actually did so. Cook & Son refunding the 
money pro rata. 

The price of this section, including all neces- 
sary expenses, first-class on steamers and at 
hotels, and second-class by rail, was $460.00; 
first-class across the Atlantic and second-class 
beydon was $425.00. 



ON ^HAVING NEW YORK. 9 

The second section included all the places of 
the first section, as stated above, and the long 
tour in Palestine, viz. : Samaria, Nazareth, Lake 
of Galilee, Mount Carmel, Tyre, Sidon, and Bey- 
rout, a 98 days' trip, price including all necessary 
expenses: first-class on steamers and at hotels, 
and second-class by rail, $530.00; first-class across 
the Atlantic, and second-class beyond, $490.00. 
Beyrout was the terminus of the second section, 
having the same itinerary home as the first 
section. 

The third section included all the places of 
the first section, the long tour in Palestine (from 
Jerusalem to Beyrout, via Samaria, Galilee and 
Tyre), Smyrna and Ephesus, Constantinople, 
Athens, Corinth, Brindisi, Venice, Milan, St. 
Gotthart Tunnel and Lucerne, a most magnificent 
trip of 112 days, price including all necessary 
expenses : first-class on steamers and at hotels, 
and second-class by rail, $650.00; first-class 
across the Atlantic and second-class beyond, 
$600.00. 

Now we are ready to sail from New York. 

As the steamer was loaded and every thing 
ready, it majestically left the shores of the United 
States, and moved on, out into the great Atlantic 



IO ON LEAVING NEW YORK. 

ocean, while hundreds of friends, who had es- 
corted the pilgrims to the shore, waved their 
handkerchiefs, shouted, and wished us all a happy 
journey and safe return. The first two days the 
weather was most beautiful, the ocean calm, and 
the pilgrims were all in very good humor, so 
much so, that on the second evening, the 2 2d of 
February, the pilgrims gave a kind of a concert 
for the stewards, it being the birthday of the 
Father of our Liberty. On this occasion, Rt. 
Rev. Bishop Wigger, Rt. Rev. Bishop Radema- 
cher, and Monsignor Seton made appropriate 
speeches. 

On the third day, however, a fearful storm 
arose, which lasted uninterruptedly for six or 
seven days, in consequence of which all the pil- 
grims, excepting Monsignor Seton, experienced, 
nolens volens, what seasickness is. The Atlantic 
ocean is that branch of the general ocean, which 
separates the contiaents of Europe and Africa 
from America. It is named the Atlantic Ocean 
from Mount Atlas, which rises near its shores. 
It is supposed by some professional men, such as 
Dr. Young, to have a depth of about 1^,000 ft. 
The distance or length from New York to France 
is about three thousand miles. To be on this 



ON LEAVING NEW YORK. 1 1 

immense ocean in time of a storm is no fun. The 
storm ceased about two days before we landed, 
and when the ocean became somewhat tranquil 
I amongst other priests said Mass on the steamer, 
we having a portable altar with us. As soon as 
the storm was over, the seasickness also left us, 
and the good humor of the pilgrims revived- 
The last evening we were on the Atlantic 
the pilgrims gave a second concert in honor oi 
the captain, who, at the conclusion thereof, ex- 
pressed his thanks, and enjoyed us with the 
announcement, that if we would go on deck we 
could see European light, whereupon we rushed 
on deck and were agreeably surprised to behold 
a European light-house. As we were obliged to 
pass through the English Channel for quite a 
distance, we did not land until about 5 o'clock 
the next evening. 

On the last day we spent on the steamer, 
which happened to be on a Sunday, Rt. Rev. 
Bishop Wigger read the Gospel of the day and 
delivered a sermon to the pilgrims, with the 
following text : "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem" 
(St. Luke, chap, xvm, v. 31,) which was con- 
tained in the day's gospel. The Rt. Rev. Bishop 
in his eloquent and touching sermon, together 



12 



CHERBOURG. 



with other truths, proved to us, that these words 
applied in an especial manner to us happy Ameri- 
can Pilgrims. 

Being thus again encouraged and strenghtened 
we landed safely at 

CHERBOURG 

At 5 o'clock in the evening of the 2d day of 
March. As soon as we came ashore our valises 
were searched by custom-house officers. It 
seems the French like tobacco, because that 
was the principal thing they looked for. After 
that we went to our hotel, which was shown us 
by Cook's guides, who had come to meet and 
guide the pilgrims on their entire journey. After 
supper we all had to go to the custom-house 
proper, to have our trunks searched. In the 
evening some of the pilgrims went to a church, 
in which at the time 40 hours devotion was held. 
Right Rev. Bishop Rademacher had the honor to 
give benediction with the Blessed Sacrament at 
the close of the evening's devotion. 

The next morning, at about 6 o'clock, we 
took the train to Paris. The distance from Cher- 
bourg to Paris is about 200 miles. 



HEATING CARS IN FRANCE. 



IS 



HEATING CARS IN FRANCE. 

The first thing on the train to Paris, amongst 
other things that excited our admiration, was the 
peculiar way the French heat the cars. Before 
the train leaves the depot they shove tin cans, 
of about 5 ft. long, 8 in. wide and about 5 in. 
high, which are filled with hot water, under the 
feet of the passengers. When this water has 
become cold, after having traveled a distance of 
about 50 miles and they stop at a depot, the cans 
are taken out and others, also filled with hot 
water, take their places. 

When the train moves on again the doors of 
the cars are locked until they come to a stopping 
place. Much could here be said about the con- 
struction of the cars. The pilgrims had nothing 
to do with buying tickets or looking after their 
baggage, as the guide looked after all this, mak- 
ing it very convenient for us. 

At 7 o'clock in the evening of March 3d 
we reached Paris. Here in the depot, as in every 
other large city, our guides gave each one a 
ticket showing the name of the hacks — which 
were standing ready for us at the depot — and also 
the name of our hotel, and when all of us had 



14 PARIS. 

entered the hacks, we were driven to the Grand 
Hotel. 

PARIS. 

Paris, the capital of France, and the second 
city in Europe in point of population, is on the 
banks of the river Seine and has a population of 
about 3,852,000. Paris is noted, amongst other 
things, for its beautiful churches and its archi- 
tecture. The New Opera House is said to be 
the finest in the world. Amongst the churches 
the most impressive of all is the cathedral of 
Notre Dame, a noble specimen of the early 
pointed style of so-called Gothic; it is cruciform, 
with an extreme length of 390 ft., width of tran- 
septs 144 ft., height of vaulting 105 ft., width of 
western front 128 ft., flanked by two massive 
towers 224 ft. high.*) Its immense Thesaurus 
was also shown to us. 

THE GRAND OPERA OF PARIS. 
The largest and finest theatre in the world 
is the New Grand Opera of Paris. It was begun 
in i860 and opened to the public for the first 
time on January 5th, 1875. It was built at the 
expense of the government, and cost $5,600,000, 

*) Appleton's Cyclopaedia. 



MARSEILLES. 15 

exclusive of the land which it occupies. Not- 
withstanding the vast size of the building, the 
auditorium contains only 2,194 seats. By far the 
greater part of the building is occupied by a vast 
number of rooms, halls, staircases, shops, etc., 
appurtenances designed for the convenience and 
pleasure of the spectators and of those connected 
with the theatre. The stage is about 100 ft. in 
width by 220 ft. in depth, and 700 singers can be 
grouped upon it. In its facilities for ingress and 
egress, in the completeness of its machinery and 
appliances, and in the magnificence and costliness 
of its decorations it far surpasses any theatre of 
modern times. (Thus Appleton's Cyclopaedia has 
it.) "France is the centre of civilized nations, 
Paris is the centre of France, the 'Boulevards des 
Italiens' is the centre of Paris," says an enthusi- 
astic modern Parisian. In the Church of St. 
Louis forming a part of the Invalides, we also 
saw the tomb of Napoleon I., the great porphyry 
sarcophagus standing directly under the dome 
which crowns the edifice. 

MARSEILLES. 

We left Paris March the 4th, in the evening, 
and traveled by day express train to Marseilles, 



i6 



MARSEILLES. 



the distance being about 400 miles, and arrived 
at 7 o'clock P. M. on March 5th. 

On our way from Paris to Marseilles we came 
through Lyons, which is especially noted for its 
silk factories. We also came through Avignon, 
called the Babilonian exile of the popes. Here 
all the popes, from Clement V. to Gregory XI. 
(1309-77) made their residence. The pilgrims 
saw the palace in which the popes lived. The 
last named pope restored the Papal See to Rome. 
The 14th century was thus the period of the 
city's greatest splendor. It then numbered about 
100,000 inhabitants. 

Marseilles is the principal seaport of France. 
All parts of the city are well supplied with water 
through a canal fed by the Durance, and opened 
in 1850, at a cost of $10,000,000. The public 
buildings possess little architectural interest. 
The cathedral is said to have been built upon 
the site of a temple of Diana; the Church of 
St. Victor is the most ancient church, and was 
formerly one of the most celebrated abbeys in 
Christendom. In it the pilgrims saw the confes- 
sional, altar, chapel and tomb of St. Lazarus, its 
first bishop, whom Christ resuscitated. St. Laza- 
rus lived in this grotto, with St. Mary Magdalena 



MARSEILLES. 1 7 

who here led a contemplative life, whilst Martha 
was of a busy character and built a convent at 
Avignon. After the ascension of Christ the Jews 
persecuted Lazarus, Mary Magdalena and Martha, 
put them in a ship without sails, thinking they 
would thus perish, but they all three landed 
at Marseilles. Here we also saw the cross, on 
which St. Andrew the Apostle was crucified. 
The pilgrims here in Marseilles, furthermore vis- 
ited the renowned church "Notre Dame de la 
Garde'' the sailors' shrine, 700 feet above the 
level of the sea. This church has the following 
history : At one time, sailors on the Mediter- 
ranean Sea, near Marseilles, were in great danger 
of being shipwrecked, and they made a promise 
to the Blessed Virgin, whom the Church desig- 
nates, "the Star of the Ocean, " that they would 
build a church in her honor if they were saved, 
whereupon, in the evening, the sailors saw a star 
on the top of the hill, where now this church 
stands, built by these sailors. The walls of this 
church are bedecked with offerings and above the 
High Altar appear the words: "Ave Maris Stella. 1 y 
It is generally visited by Catholics for thanks- 
giving after having crossed the ocean. In one of 
the streets of Marseilles is also a statue of the 

3 



i8 



NICK. 



Immaculate Conception B. V. M., thirty feet high, 
with this inscription : " Raised by the arch- 
bishop, priests and people of Marseilles, on the 
8th of December, 1857, to perpetuate the decree of 
the Immaculate Conception, by Pope Pius IX." 

NICE. 

On March the 6th, the pilgrims took the train 
for Nice. We arrived at four o'clock in the 
evening, and stopped at the Grand Hotel, which 
has six hundred bed rooms, and is the finest hotel 
we saw on our trip. The distance from Mar- 
seilles to Nice is two hundred miles. Nice which 
numbers a population of 80,000, is a seaport, and 
the larger part of it was ceded to France by Italy 
in i860. It has narrow streets, but from its cen- 
tre rises a hill eight hundred feet high. The 
summit, upon which formerly a castle had been 
' built, is now laid out in public pleasure grounds. 
It is inhabited chiefly by English, who have a 
chapel and two cemeteries. The houses are very 
neat and encompassed by beautiful gardens. 

The town contains a cathedral of the seven- 
teenth century, a national college, a public library 
hospitals, convents, a zoological museum, a theatre 



GKNOA. 19 

and baths. Nice is a free port, and steamers run 
three times a week to Marseilles and Genoa. It 
is chiefly noted as a watering place and a resort 
for English invalids, who frequent it in such 
numbers, that they have produced a complete 
change in the aspect of that part of town which 
they inhabit. As many as 5,000 or 6,000 British 
visitors are found here in the winter. The cli- 
mate is remarkably mild and solubrious, and the 
suburbs, which lie among the low hills a mile or 
two inland, are particularly delightful. 

March the 7th, we took the evening train for 

GENOA. 

After we had left Genoa, we came to Venti- 
mille, which is on the boundary line of France 
and Italy. Here we had to go through another 
custom-house. We thought the custom-house 
officials at Cherbourg were strict, but we found 
them here (in Italy) more severe; they were 
regular robbers. We had a terrible time of it. 
One of our priests had with him about fifty cigars. 
As soon as they noticed that, two or three police- 
men held him, took the cigars and kept them. 
The priest being an American, was of course 



20 



GENOA. 



out-spoken, and called them " Latros" i. e. 
thieves, as an officer came and tapped him on the 
shoulder. Some of our parties told the priest to 
hold his peace, or he might get into trouble. 
Another priest, a rather old and nice gentle- 
man, had with him about thirty cigars and a 
little snuff. They confiscated all of this and 
fined him fifty franks— about ten dollars to our 
American money. I must say, that for myself 
I fared much better. As soon as they brought 
my trunk into the custom-house, I opened it, and 
there being no one to see me, took out my cigars 
(about thirty), put them in my overcoat, closed 
the trunk and then called an officer to look into 
my trunk. He did so, found everything in order, 
closed the trunk and put a mark on it with his 
chalk ; a sign that it had passed the. custom-house, 
and done I was. 

We arrived at Genoa, at ten o'clock in the 
evening. Here we had the worst hotel on our 
whole trip ; it would have been fit for those cus- 
tom-house officials. The next morning we here 
visited the Cathedral, Church of the Annunziata, 
Palace of the Doges, Public Gardens and Ceme- 
tery, said to be the finest in the world. At the 
depot we also saw a monument of Christopher 



PISA. 



21 



Columbus, this city being the place of his birth. 
The pilgrims also saw the body of St. Catherine. 
The distance from Nice to Genoa is one hundred 
miles. 

In the evening of March the 8th, we took 
the train to 

PISA. 

In traveling from Genoa to Pisa, the train 
skirts the shore of the blue Mediterranean Sea, 
affording magnificent views as the train passes 
from one tunnel to another in rapid succession, 
there being fifty-six of these between Genoa and 
Pisa. From Genoa to Pisa the distance is 118 
miles. 

Pisa has a population of 265,959, the princi- 
cipal river being the Arno. It is built on a plain 
and is surrounded by an ancient wall with fire 
gates and protected by a citadel. 

The cathedral, baptistry, leaning tower and 
Campo Sancto of Pisa, are four of the most 
remarkable structures in the world. They are 
all built of wdiite marble and of corresponding 
style. The pilgrims visited these four structures. 

The cathedral, finished early in the seven- 
teenth century, contains some celebrated works 



22 



PISA. 



of art. Its bronze doors are opened by machin- 
ery; fourty men could not open them. Two of its 
columns are over eight hundred years old. One 
of its altars is solid silver ; it has forty altars and 
three pulpits. 

The baptistry, finished later than the cathe- 
dral, is a circular edifice, 160 feet in diameter and 
179 feet high, with mosaic pavement and carved 
columns. It has 150 statues placed around its 
cornices.*) It has a most beautiful pulpit, which 
Napoleon I. tried to take to Paris, but, as he had 
not sufficient time, he destroyed many figures on it. 
The columns that support it, are taken from the 
different Islands of the Mediterranean Sea, and, 
if a person sings in it, it sounds like a grand 
pipe organ. 

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, the only leaning 
tower in the world, was begun in 1 1 74 by Bonanus 
of Pisa and William of Innspruck. It is 179 feet 
high, cylendrical in form, and 50 feet in diameter; 
the walls on the summit are eight feet thick. 
The summit, on which I stood, is reached by 330 
steps, that lead up in the inside. The fact which 
gives it the name, by which it is so well known, 
is, that it leans about thirteen feet from the per- 

*) Appleton's Cyclopedia. 



FLORENCE. 23 

pendicular. This fault was manifested before its 
completion, and was guarded against by extra 
braces, and an adaptation of the stone in the 
highest portion. The seven bells on the top, the 
largest of which weighs 12,000 pounds, are so 
placed as to counteract by their gravity the 
leaning of the tower. 

The Campo Sancto, the cemetery of Pisa, is a 
beautiful oblong court, 490 feet long and 1 70 feet 
wide, surrounded by arcades of white marble, 
60 feet high and adorned with ancient Etruscan, 
Greek and Roman bass-reliefs and other sculp- 
tures, and with paintings by the early Italian 
masters. In its centre is an enormous mound 01 
earth, said to have been brought from Mount 
Calvary, during the crusades, and formerly used 
as a burial ground.*) This cemetery is the pan- 
theon of the Pisans, and among its most famous 
monuments is the tomb of Algarotti, erected by 
Frederick the Great in 1764. 

March 9th we took the evening train for 

FLORENCE. 

We arrived at Florence at eight o'clock in the 
evening. It is fifty miles from Pisa to Florence, 

■•-) Appleton's Cyclopaedia. 



24 FLORENCE. 

which has a population of 200,000. The city lies 
in a beautiful, well wooded, and cultivated valley, 
surrounded by the Apennines. The river Arno 
flows through the city, the larger part of it being 
on the right or north bank. The river within 
the city is crossed by four fine stone bridges, of 
which the most noted is th^ "Ponte di Santa 
Trinita." It is adorned with statues, is 323 feet 
long and the central arch has a span of 96 
feet. The "Ponte Vecchio" is 75 feet wide, 
and the carriage-way in the middle is lined on 
each side by a row of shops, occupied chiefly by 
goldsmiths and jewelers. 

Florence has 172 churches. The "Duomo," 
or ''Cathedral Church of Santa Maria del Fiore," 
which the pilgrims among others visited, is a vast 
and superb structure, which is surpassed in archi- 
tectural . grandeur only by St. Peter's in Rome. 
The length of the church is nearly 500 feet 
and of the united transepts 306 feet; its height, 
from the pavement to the summit of the cross, 
is 387 feet; the height of the nave is 153 feet, 
and of the side aisles, 96 feet; and, the width of 
the nave and aisles is 128 feet. The exterior 
of the church is covered throughout with red, 
white and black marble, disposed in panels and 



ASSISI. 25 

variagated figures. The pavement also is of 
many-colored marble, much of which was laid 
under the direction of Michael Angelo. The 
dome of this cathedral is the largest in the world, 
its circumference being greater than that of the 
dome of St. Peter. It excited the admiration 
of Michael Angelo, to whom it served as a model 
for the dome of St. Peter. 

Near the Cathedral stands the Campanile or 
Belfry, w T hich was begun in 1334. It is a square 
tower, 276 feet high, light and elegant, Gothic 
style, and divided into four lofty stories. Charles 
V. used to say that it deserves to be kept in 2 
glass case.*) 

The pilgrims furthermore visited the famous 
galleries, such as : the Uffizi and the " Pitti Palace," 
which contain a collection of the choicest gems 
of art extant; also the Tombs of the Medicis, 
and the Baptistry, with its marvelous bronze 
doors. The pilgrims left Florence on the 13th 
01 March and took the morning train for Assisi. 

ASSISI. 

The pilgrims arrived at four o'clock in the 
evening of the same day. From Florence to 



*) Appleton's Cyclopaedia. 



26 



ASSISI. 



Assisi is one hundred miles. It is picturesquely 
situated on a declivity of a steep hill, and has a 
population of 5,000. It is especially noted as the 
birthplace of St. Francis, the founder of the 
Order of Franciscans. Monsignor Staniero, from 
Rome, came to meet the pilgrims. Here are 
the church and monastery in which St. Francis 
is buried. As soon as we arrived at the station, 
we took carriages, and drove up the hill about 
two miles, to the town proper of Assisi. 

On arriving at the church in which St. Fran- 
cis is buried, we were received most friendly by 
the Franciscan fathers, who immediately showed 
us the church. The church has three naves, one 
of which the Italian government secularized. 
At the time we were visiting the church, some 
men were at work frescoing it for a museum. 

While here at Assisi we saw many things of 
great interest to us all. First of all the coffin that 
contains the body of St. Francis, the sheet in 
which he died, the board on which his body was 
washed after death, the linen with which St. Clara 
washed the wounds of St. Francis, the cingulum 
of St. Francis, in which he received the stigmata, 
and above all, the Veil of the Blessed Virgin 



ASSISI. 27 

Mary, said to have been brought here by the 
crusaders. 

We then went to the Church of St. Clara; 
here we saw the stable in w^hich St. Francis w 7 as 
born, the miraculous cross, that spoke to him 
whilst in prayer, the house in which St. Clara 
lived; w 7 e went into the chapel in w r hich St. Clara 
said her divine office with her Nuns, the chair on 
w T hich she sat, saw and heard the bell ring w r ith 
which St. Clara called her Nuns to prayer, the 
breviary out of which she said her divine office, 
and finally saw her body. 

After we had seen all this, the pilgrims w T ere 
shown to hotels. I lodged in the Monastery of 
the Portiuncula, which is near the rail-road 
station, two miles from the city of Assisi, on a 
beautiful plain. This large and beautiful church, 
built over the Portiuncula chapel, has thirty-six 
altars. I said Mass in this portiuncula chapel the 
next morning, I shall here give the reader a 
short history of 

THE PORTIUNCULA INDULGENCE. 

Whilst one night St. Francis w 7 as . praying in 
solitude, it was revealed to him, that Christ and 



28 



ASSISI. 



his blessed Mother with a host of heavenly 
spirits, is awaiting him in the old chapel. St. 
Francis joyfully went there at once. As he 
beheld Jesus and his mother he fell upon his 
knees in adoration, Christ then said to his ser- 
vant: "Francis, demand what thou wilt for the 
salvation of souls, for thou hast been given 
to the world as a light, and to the terrestrial 
Church as a support.' ' Upon this Francis ans- 
wered: 44 Most holy Father and highest Lord, 
although I am a poor and miserable sinner, 
nevertheless I venture for the sake of mankind, 
the following grace : Grant everyone, that visits 
this Church, forgiveness of all his sins and pun- 
ishment, after he has confessed them to a priest 
and obtained absolution. I pray to the blessed 
Virgin, our advocate, to support my petition." 
The Queen of heaven immediately heard his 
prayer and asked her divine Son to grant the 
petition of Francis. Hereupon the Lord ans- 
wered: "Francis, what thou askest is a great 
deal, nevertheless thou deservest to be favored 
still more. I will grant thy petition, but go to 
my representative, Pope Honorius III, who is at 
Perugia, (Perugia is 13 miles, E. S. E. from 
Assisi,) and ask of him the desired Indulgence." 



ASSISI. 29 

The next morning Francis went to Perugia. 
As he was admitted to the Pope, he said, in his 
great simplicity of heart: ''Holy Father, some 
time ago I improved a Church in honor of the 
Mother of God. I entreat your Holiness to 
annex with this an Indulgence without obligation 
of an offering." The Pope answered: "It is 
not becoming to grant such favors; whoever 
wishes to gain an Indulgence must perform some 
good works. And for how many years do you 
ask such indulgence; for one or three years? 
Or, do you want me to grant it for six or seven 
years? With this St. Francis was not satisfied. 
" Oh, gracious Lord and Pope," he answered," 
that is not worth while." "What shall I do then 
for you?" "On account of the many favors the 
Lord has bestowed upon this place," St. Francis 
answered, "with the sanction of your Holiness, 
I wish that all those, who visit this Church, after 
having confessed their sins and received abso- 
lution, may obtain remission of all their guilt 
in heaven and on earth, for all sins they may 
have committed since their baptism. I fur- 
thermore wish that they should have no other 
obligation to fulfill." "Francis," the Pope said, 
"you ask something very great; the "Roman 



30 ROME. 

Curie is not in the habit of granting such an 
Indulgence." Francis answered with animosity: 
"Your Holiness, I do not ask it in my name, but 
in the name of Christ, who sends me to you." 
In this holy name the Pope answered: "So then 
be it granted" and added,: "I want it, you shall 
have it ! you shall have it ! you shall have it ! Be 
it done in the name of the Lord." 

St. Francis left Perugia on the same day, and 
during the night heard a voice from heaven: 
"Francis, know you, that the Indulgence which 
has been granted thee on earth, is ratified in 
heaven." 

This Indulgence can be gained on the first 
Sunday in August, by all who fulfill the above 
named conditions in a Franciscan Church. 

On March the 14th the pilgrims took the 
afternoon train for 

. ROME. 

From Assisi to Rome the distance is 125 
miles. It numbers 400,000 inhabitants. We 
arrived here March 15th, at three o'clock in the 
afternoon, and remained until the 25th. As we 
were yet eleven miles from the eternal city, we 
already saw the Dome of St. Peter. 



ROME. 31 

The first day the pilgrims immediately went 
first of all, to see the grandest Church on earth, 
St. Peter's, said to be worth at present $150,000- 
000. A flight of twenty-seven large marble steps 
lead up into the grand Basilica. Of this Church, 
Michael Angelo said: " I will hang the Pantheon 
in the air in St. Peter's Dome." It holds 52,000 
people. Pre-eminent among the Christian tem- 
ples of the world is St. Peter's Church, the work 
of many Popes and architects, finally consecrated 
by Pope Urban VIII. in 1626, which Gibbon calls, 
"the most glorious structure that has ever been 
applied to the use of religion." The basilica of 
St. Peter's is surpassed by no cathedral in anti- 
quity and splendor, and equalled by none in mag- 
nitude. Pope Sixtus V. gave 100,000 gold crowns 
annually towards the completion of its present 
Dome, finished in 1590, by Giacomo della Porta. 
The Church was dedicated by Pope Urban VIII. 
(1614), on November 18th, 1626. 

The building of St. Peter's, from its founda- 
tion in 1450, till its dedication, took 175 years; 
and if we include the w T ork done under Pius VI, 
three and a half centuries passed, before it w r as 
completed, during w 7 hich time forty-three Popes 
reigned. # 



32 ROME. 

The dimensions of the church are as follows: 
Length of the interior 613^ English feet, of 
transept from wall to wall 446^ feet; height of 
nave 152^ feet, of side aisles 47 feet; Width of 
nave 77 to 89 feet, of side aisles 33 feet; circum- 
ference of pillars, which support the Dome, 253 
feet. The cupola is 193 feet in diameter. The 
height of the Dome from the pavement to the 
base of the lantern is 405 feet; to the top of the 
cross 448 feet.*) (In the ball beneath the cross, 
I was with seven more pilgrims at the same time, 
ancl in it I wrote a postal card to America, to my 
brother.) The Dome is encircled and strength- 
ened by six bands of iron. A stairway leads 
to the roof, broad and easy enough to allow a 
loaded horse to ascend. The annual cost of 
keeping the Church in repair is 30,000 scudi, 
according to our money, $6,000. 

St. Peter's Church, though externally magni- 
ficent in materials and dimensions, is disfigured 
by the prominence of the front added by 
Maderno, which almost hides from the near spec- 
tator the principal feature, the vast and towering 
Dome; while, had the original plan of Bramante 



•■'•) Appleton's Cyclopaedia. 



ROME. 33 

and Michel Angelo been followed, the whole 
Dome would have been visible from the square 
before the Church. 

But the Dome itself and the interior of the 
edifice are held to be unrivalled in magnitude, 
proportion and decoration. About in the centre 
of the Church is a bronze haldachin ninety-three 
feet high, which is above the high Altar. Under- 
neath this Altar is the "Confessio," around which 
are eighty-two lamps, burning constantly. Beneath 
a flight of two stairways and before the grave of 
St. Peter, is a beautiful statue of Pius VI, a mas- 
terpiece of Canova. It is called u Confessio" or 
"Martyrium" i. e. Confession, because the mar- 
tyrer, yet in the grave as it were, through his 
wounds, confesses his faith in Christ. 

The south part of the Church's nave contains 

the confessionals for the different nations. Above 

the confessional for the Germans for instance, we 

read the words : " Pro lingua germanica," and so 

on for each nationality. After confession the 

penitent comes out of the confessional, kneels 

down before the confessional before the priest, 

who with a long staff knocks the penitent slightly 

on the head. A special Indulgence is connected 

with this ceremony; it has the following: meaning. 

4 



34 ROME. 

If any one in the time of old pagan Rome, 
wanted to set his slaves free, he was taken before 
the judge to the Forum, there he gave him his 
liberty with the last stroke, as an external sign of 
his liberty ; this applies to the spiritual slavery of 
the sinner ; itself gives the explanation. 

The large oval area in front of St. Peter's is 
surrounded by a superb colonade, the top of 
which is adorned with no statues, each about 
seven feet high. In the middle, between two 
fountains, is an Egyptian Obelisk, seventy-eight 
feet in height; on the top of it is a cross, and in 
the centre of it a particle of the true Cross, an- 
nouncing as it were, the triumph of Christ over 
paganism. 

On Sunday, the 17th of March, I, amongst 
other priests of our pilgrims, said Mass in St. 
Peter's. The immense " Thesaurus " of St. Peter's 
Church was also shown to the pilgrims. 

On Monday, the 18th of March, the pilgrims 
had the great honor of having an audience with 
the Holy Father, Leo XIII. The afternoon 
before, we were made acquainted with the neces- 
sary ceremonies that pertain to the audience. 
First Rt. Rev. Bishop Rademacher, Monsignor 
Seton and Very Rev. Chas. A. Vissani had audi- 



ROME. 



35 



ence in a parlor of the Vatican next to us (Rt. 
Rev. Bishop Wigger was absent on account of 
sickness, but had audience later on). After the 
old and saintly looking Pope had given audience 
to the above named, he came to the priests and 
laymen of the pilgrimage, who were all kneeling 
in the throne parlor of the Pope, with their relig- 
ious articles, such as rosaries, crosses and cruci- 
fixes, in their hands, which the pilgrims bought 
in the Eternal City. 

The feeling, that overwhelms every one, but 
especially the Catholic at this sight, can not be 
expressed with words. The Holy Father was in 
the best of humor and very glad to see the Ameri- 
can pilgrims, as His Holiness likes the Americans 
especially. As His Holiness passed the pilgrims, 
he shook hands with most of them, continually 
smiling and talking in the Italian language ; Father 
Vissani interpreting it. The Holy Father said, 
amongst other things, "He w^hed he also had 
the happiness of going to the Holy Land once, 
and that the Americans would also have an 'hos- 
pice ' in Jerusalem, as have the Germans and 
Austrians." After this he gave us all his bless- 
ing, and then went into the next parlor to give 
audience to the ladies of our pilgrimage. In the 



36 ROME. 

mean time, each one of us received a silver medal 
from the Holy Father as remembrance. After 
the audience, the pilgrims had their photographs 
taken in a group, of which each one afterwards 
bought a picture, which, when we now look over 
it from time to time, recalls to our minds so many 
joyful events of the first American Catholic pil- 
grimage. 

The city of Rome has 360 churches and 180 
conventual edifices, but many of the convents 
and monasteries have been suppressed since the 
occupation of the city by the Italian government, 
and the buildings converted to public uses. 

The pilgrims next visited the celebrated Church 
of St. John of Later an, founded by Constantine. 
This is the Episcopal Church, or Cathedral of the 
Pope, and bears over its chief portal the inscrip- 
tion, <( Omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et 
caput." " Mother and head of all the churches 
of the city and the world." At its main altar 
none but the Pope can say Mass, for it covers 
another ancient altar at which the Apostle St. 
Peter said Mass. 

In the adjoining palace 161 Popes lived (of 
whom 47 are Saints), and celebrated the highest 
feasts. Twenty-three Popes are buried here. 



ROME. 37 

There were also five general councils of the 
Church held here. This Church possesses the 
table on which the Last Supper was taken. This 
table is placed above the high altar on which is 
kept the Blessed Sacrament, besides two large 
particles of the true Cross and other instruments 
of the Passion. As soon as we enter the Church, 
we have in its centre before us the grand altar of 
the Blessed Sacrament ; built with the richness of 
most costly and rare pillars and stones ; there is 
no altar in the whole of Rome that excels it, on 
which the Hoi} 7 Eucharist is kept. And it is 
very proper, too, that in the Mother Church and 
centre of all Catholic unity, the mystery of the 
Most High be thus honored which forms the focus 
of the whole soul of religion, and the bond of 
unity for all children of the one Father. 

By going around this Church of St. John of 
Lateran, w T e at once come to the chapel of the 
''Scala Sancta," the Holy Stairway, which our 
Divine Saviour ascended after his flagellation to be 
placed before the people by Pontius Pilate. There 
is hardly a second sanctuary that speaks so tender 
and impressive to the heart of the Christian. 

On the floor below, before we ascend the 
twenty-eight steps, we see two statues, one of 



38 ROMK. 

" Judas," the other u Ecce Homo." These steps 
are covered with wood ; between the cracks, 
here and there, we behold marks of the blood of 
Christ, over which is a glass cover. Each one of 
the pilgrims went up these steps, praying on each 
step an Our Father to gain the Indulgence. 
Continually we can see pious people ascending 
these steps on their knees. Pope Pius IX. visited 
these steps even the day before Rome was taken 
in 1870, this being the last time in his life that he 
left the Vatican. 

THE VATICAN. 

The pilgrims also visited the Vatican, the 
papal palace, so called from its situation on the 
Mons Vaticanus, at the extreme north-west part 
of the city. It adjoins the Basilica of St. Peter's, 
and is a little less than half a mile from the castle 
of Saint Angelo. The palace, one of the most 
magnificent in the world, has grown up by degrees 
and consequently exhibits a great want of archi- 
tectural harmony. There certainly was a palace 
attached to St. Peter's in the time of Charlemagne, 
and probably before the reign of Constantino 
It was rebuilt by Innocent III. (1198-1216), and 



ROME. 39 

enlarged by Nicholas III., but did not become the 
permanent residence of the Popes until after their 
return from Avignon in 1377. The Sistine Chapel 
was added by Sixtus IV., in 1474, and the Pauline 
Chapel, by Paul III., in 1534. Innocent VIII. 
(1484-92) constructed the Belvedere Villa a short 
distance from the palace, and Julius II. (1503—13) 
connected it with the Vatican by means of the 
celebrated loggie and a terraced court. To Julius 
II. is also due the foundation of the Museum. 
Pius VII. constructed the Braccio Nuovo for 
sculptures. Gregory XVI. added the Etruscan 
Museum, and Pius IX. has added a fourth side to 
the Cortile di San Damaso. 

The portion of the Vatican which is now the 
ordinary residence of the Popes lies on the east 
of the loggie, and was built chiefly by Sixtus V. 
(1585-90), and Clement VIII. (1592-1605). The 
whole palace, which is rather a collection of sep- 
arate buildings than one regular edifice, occupies 
a space of 1,151 by 767 feet, and has 200 stair- 
cases, 20 courts, and 4,422 rooms. The Scala 
Regia, or great staircase, is a masterpiece of Ber- 
nini, and chiefly remarkable for its perspective. 
It leads to the Sala Regia, built by Antonio di 
Sangallo as an audience hall for the reception of 



4-0 ROME. 

ambassadors and decorated with frescoes by Va- 
sari, Marco da Siena, and others.*) 

THE SISTINE AND PAULINE CHAPELS 

open into this hall. The former contains besides 
the magnificent frescoes of the ceiling, Michael 
Angelo's first masterpiece in painting, his ''East 
Judgment," together with frescoes by Perugino 
and others, representing passages in the lives of 
Christ and Moses; the latter possesses Michael 
Angelo's frescoes of the " Conversion of St. Paul" 
and ''Crucifixion of St. Peter." 

The " Stanze of Raphael " is the name given to 
four chambers decorated by the hand of that great 
master; the paintiags in one represent events in 
the lives of Leo III. and Leo IV.; in another are 
illustrations of the sciences of theology, philoso- 
phy, poetry, and jurisprudence ; in the third, the 
triumphs and miracles of the Church, and in the 
fourth, the sovereignty of the Church. 

THE MUSEUM 

is one of the most magnificent collections of the 
kind ever made. Among its principal features 

*) Apple ton's Cyclopaedia. 



ROME. 41 

are the gallery of inscriptions containing over 
3,000 specimens of ancient sepulchral inscrip- 
tions and monuments. 

THE PICTURE GALLERY 

contains greater treasures than any other in the 
world, though the whole catalogue barely num- 
bers fifty paintings. x\mong these are Raphael's 
"Transfiguration," "Madonna di Foligno," and 
" The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin " ; Domeni- 
chino's "Communion of St. Jerome." 

THE LIBRARY 

was founded in 1378, and now contains 105,000 
volumes and 25,500 manuscripts, in a building 
erected by Sixtus V., in 1588. The manuscript 
collection, though not the largest, is the most 
valuable in the world.*) 

THE POPE'S GARDEN. 

The Pope's Garden was the next thing the 
pilgrims visited. We first took a good look at the 
horses and carriages of the Pope. We saw noth- 
ing on our whole trip in the three parts of 

*) Appleton's Cyclopaedia. 



42 ROME. 

the world, through which we traveled, to equal 
these carriages in splendor and beauty. Since the 
capture of Rome, in 1870, this garden is the only 
place in the open air, where the Vicar of Christ 
can inhale fresh air. It is a beautiful large grove 
of palm and other trees. In it Pope Pius IX. in 
the latter days of his life had a Grotto built to 
resemble that of gourdes. In this garden L,eo 
XIII. had a Pavilion built, a little beautiful cottage, 
in which His Holiness sometimes goes to study, as 
he is here unmolested. I sat in his chair. 

From here the Pope has a beautiful view of 
St. Peter's Church. Although it is a beautiful 
grove, nevertheless every step he takes reminds 
him that he is a prisoner. His Holiness could 
drive out into the city, but does not feel inclined 
to do so. Sometimes the Cardinals drive out into 
the city using some of the Pope's horses and car- 
riages. 

SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE. 

This is another of Rome's important churches, 
which the pilgrims went to see. Founder of this 
church is Pope Liberius, in 360. The occasion 
of its erection, according to a legend, was a vision. 
The pious senator, John Patritius, had dreamt 



ROME. 43 

during the night of August 5th, that he should 
build a church in honor of the Blessed Virgin, on 
that part of his property, which in the morning 
he would find covered with snow (Maria ad nives). 
On account of its grandeur this basilica received 
the name t>f Maria Major (Maria Maggiore), to 
distinguish it from the other churches dedicated 
to the Blessed Virgin. The importance of this 
church was yet increased, as the wood of the crib 
of Bethlehem was brought into it, very likely 
under Pope Zacharias in 750, and deposited be- 
neath a grand altar. 

The pilgrims had the great happiness to see 
this crib (which, without special permission, can 
not be seen by visitors), and kneeling down before 
it, venerated and touched it with their religious 
articles. A beautiful statue of Pius IX. is placed 
before it kneeling in profound veneration, as it 
was he, who had the crib finally placed here. 
This church is also in possession of a primeval 
picture of the Blessed Virgin, which, as is believed, 
was painted by St. Luke, the Evangelist, and 
whose veneration exceeds 1,200 years. Above 
the beautiful high altar is furthermore the world- 
renowned picture of "Our Blessed Lady of Per- 
petual Help." 



44 ROME. 

SAN LORENZO FUORI LE MURA. 



Two things induced the pilgrims to make a 
visit to this church. The grave of Pope Pius IX., 
who chose this for his burial place, which, through 
the pious offerings of the whole Christian world 
is most beautifully decorated, and the very exten- 
sive cemetery that surrounds this church, which, 
since Napoleon I., has become the common burial 
ground of the city of Rome. Within the city 
walls, only the popes are buried who wish so, and 
the kings of Rome. 

THE PANTHEON. 

The Pantheon, literally meaning, a temple 
dedicated to all the gods, was also visited by the 
pilgrims. This is the grandest dome that has 
remained for us from antiquity, which, though 
nineteen centuries have passed over it, still retains 
all its stability and magnificence. It was erected 
by M. Agrippa, 26 b. c, and consecrated in 608 by 
Pope Boniface IV., as a Christian Church, under 
the name of Sancta Maria Martyres, but it is still 
commonly called the Pantheon. It is a rotunda, 
143 feet in diameter, surmounted by a dome, of 
which the summit is like its diameter, 143 feet 



ROME. 45 

above the pavement. The thickness of its walls 
is 17 feet at the base, 5 feet at the top and 4 feet 
7 inches at the eye. The dome is built of bricks 
and rubble, and rests on a circular wall 20 feet 
thick. It has a circular opening in the top, 28 
feet in diameter, otherwise no windows. 

The most remarkable feature of the Pantheon 
is its Corinthian portico, 1 10 feet in length by 44 
in depth, composed of 16 granite columns, with 
marble capitals and bases, disposed in a triple row, 
each column being 46 feet high and 5 feet in 
diameter. These columns support a pediment, a 
large portion of the bronze roof of which was 
removed by the Emperor Constantius II., and the 
remainder by Pope Urban VIII., to make columns 
for altars and cannons for the castle of Saint An- 
gelo. Other features of the Pantheon, such as the 
bronze doors, 30 feet high, 10 feet wide, and 14 
inches thick ; the niches and sediculse, the marble 
cornice and the mosaic pavement of the interior, 
are in excellent preservation and give an adequate 
idea of the original splendor of the edifice.*) 

It contains the tombs of Raphael, the great 
painter, Victor Emanuel and others. In 1871 the 



: -) Appleton's Cyclopaedia. 



46 ROME. 

vaults were stored with vats of petroleum and 
barrels of powder, the Communists intending to 
blow up the building, but it was taken from them 
on May 24th, and the explosion was prevented. 

THE CATACOMBS. 

As the pilgrims also visited these I must say a 
few words about them to finish up with Rome. 
We visited the one of San Callisto. They are 
found in every direction outside of the walls of 
the city. Within a mile and a half we find no less 
than fifty subterranean burial places for burying 
the dead. It was here the first Christians, espe- 
cially during the time of persecution, met to 
celebrate the holy mysteries and bury their dead. 
Connected as the Catacombs were with trials of 
the early martyrs of the church, their exploration 
and history has ever proved one of the favorite 
branches of research. During the time of the 
persecution of the Christians, commencing with 
that under Nero, and followed by those of Domi- 
tian, Trajan, Hadrian, Severus and Maximinus, 
to what is called the tenth and last persecution, 
which began in A. D. 303, under Diocletian. The 
Catacombs were crowded with those for whom 
there was no safety in the light of day. Each 



ROME. 47 

Catacomb forms a network of passages, or gal- 
leries, intersecting each other generally at right 
angles, but sometimes diverging from a centre. 
The galleries are usually 8 feet high by 3 or 5 
feet wide.*) 

The graves are in tiers on the sides and when 
undisturbed are found closed with marble slabs 
or tiles, on which are generally inscriptions or 
Christian emblems. On one slab we saw engrav- 
ings representing the Seven Sacraments ; on 
another, Jonas representing " Resurretion," as also 
a cave wherein was venerated the Blessed Virgin, 
(here the pilgrims sang, u O Sanctissima," and the 
''Magnificat,") which proves to us that the first 
Christians already, in the time of the Apostles, 
had the Seven Sacraments, believed in the resur- 
rection and venerated the Blessed Virgin. 

These now are the most important things 
which, amongst others, we saw at Rome. We 
left Rome, March 25th, on an afternoon train for 
Naples. 

MONTE CASINO. 

On our way to Naples we passed through 
Monte Casino, forty-eight miles north-west of 

*) Appleton's Cyclopaedia. 



48 MONTE CASINO. 

Naples. From the train we saw the celebrated 
Monastery, established by St. Benedict, in 529, 
upon the mountain of the same name, 1,300 feet 
high. The Monastery is a massive pile, more like 
a palace than a convent. The interior of the 
church is said to surpass in beauty and costliness 
of decoration every church in Italy, except St. 
Peter's. Rev. Father Geo. Meyer, from Fryburg, 
Pa., one of our pilgrims, left Rome before we did, 
went to Monte Casino, and again met us here at 
the railroad station. • He and I generally being 
room-mates he gave me the following information 
about Monte Casino. It belongs at present to 
the government, and there are about seventy 
students ; the Benedictines must give their income 
to the government, it allowing each person only 
one frank per day. 

NAPLES. 

We arrived here in the afternoon about 5 
o'clock on March 25th. Naples is the largest city 
of Italy, has 600,000 inhabitants, on the north 
coast of the Bay of Naples, in the immediate 
vicinity of Mt. Vesuvius, and ten miles from the 
sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii, 118 miles 



NAPLES. 



49 



south-east of Rome, with which it is connected by 
railway. The approach to Naples from the sea is 
famous for its loveliness. Naples is known for its 
beautiful bay. The city has five principal land 
entrances, but it is open like New York, provided 
only at the leading avenues with barriers for the 
purpose of collecting the duties on provisions. 
The streets are generally straight, and paved with 
square blocks of lava; the large thoroughfares 
are lighted with gas, but only the principal ones 
have side-walks. The ground story consists of a 
series of arched cells, all of the same shape and 
size, occupied generally by tradesmen, or for 
cafes, or restaurants, and on the upper floors lodge 
numbers of families.*) 

The Neapolitans live much out of doors, and 
it is nothing unusual to see the children being 
washed and dressed in the open streets. Naples 
has over 300 churches, the most important of them 
being the Cathedral. Over its great entrance are 
the tomb of Charles L, of Anjou; Charles Martel 
and his wife, Clementia, of Hapsburg, as also the 
tombs of King Andrew and of Pope Innocent IV. 
Opposite the entrance of the basilica of Santa 



*) Appleton's Cyclopaedia. 

5 



50 NAPLES. 

Restituta is the chapel of San Gennaro (St. Jan- 
nuarius) with the two celebrated vials that contain 
the blood of that Saint, the liquifaction of which 
gives occasion for the greatest religious festivals 
of Naples when the "Tomb of San Gennaro," is 
surrounded w T ith the sick waiting to be cured. 
The tomb is under the high altar in the richly 
ornamented subterranean chapel, called the "Con- 
fessional of San Gennaro. " Besides this cathe- 
dral, amongst other places, the pilgrims visited 
the grand Museum, which is the glory of Naples, 
and of which I shall here give a brief sketch. 

THE MUSEUM. 

It is situated in a building originally intended 
for cavalry barracks, afterwards remodeled from 
the designs of Fontana for the use of the Uni- 
versity, and for some time the seat of the Aca- 
demy of Science. It is still called, Pallazzo d'egli 
Studii Publici, or simply Stndii. After the an- 
nexation of Naples by the Italian kingdom, it 
was named Museo Nazionale. It contains collec- 
tions of ancient frescoes, mosaics, and mural 
inscriptions, Egyptian antiquities, ancient sculp- 
tures, inscriptions, bronzes, glasses, pottery, cin- 
quecento objects, gems, medals and coins, vases, 



NAPLES. 51 

paintings, and the National Library. Among the 
ancient frescoes are more than 1,600 specimens 
found at Herculaneum and Pompeii. The col- 
lection of ancient sculpture contains the statues 
of the Roman emperors and a colossal bust of 
Julius Caesar. The "Room of the Papyrii" in- 
cludes more than 1,700 rolls of writings from 
Herculaneum, disfigured by the effects of the 
fire, of which about 500 have been successfully 
unrolled. The gallery of paintings contains 500 
works, many of them masterpieces of the old 
painters.*) 

POMPEII. 

One day we also rode to Pompeii, twelve 
miles south-east of Naples, by train at the foot of 
Mt. Vesuvius. It is a favorable summer resort 
% for the people of Naples. It was overwhelmed 
by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, August 24th, 
in the year 79, after the birth of Christ. The sea 
formerly came up to the city walls; it is now 
more than a mile away from it, as the lava and 
ground filled that space. The deposit of ashes 
and cinders had an average depth of fifteen feet. 



*) Appleton's Cyclopaedia. 



52 NAPI^S. 

Charles III., of Naples, ordered excavations on 
an extensive scale, and in 1755 the amphitheatre 
was uncovered. His successors, including Victor 
Emanuel, have continued the work from time 
to time, until a large part of the city was brought 
to light. The excavation is of incalculable im- 
portance to us; it giving us an idea of the do- 
mestic economy, the arts, and the social life of 
the ancient world. The articles excavated were 
very well preserved in the lava. At the entrance 
of Pompeii is a kind of a museum in which are 
exhibited the excavated articles. When the ca- 
tastrophe happened several thousand of the in- 
habitants were assembled in the amphitheatre. 
It is generally supposed that the number of 
inhabitants w T as from twenty to fifty thousand *) 

ON LEAVING NAPLES. 
After having spent three days at Naples, the " 
pilgrims embarked for Egypt on Thursday, 
March 28th, at 7 o'clock P. M., on the steamer 
"Asia". As soon as the pilgrims came on the 
steamer, a great many were immediately seasick, 
caused partly by the tossing about on the small 
boat that took us out on board of the steamer 



*) Applelon^s Cyclopaedia. 



NAPLES. 53 

"Asia", and partly on account of the foul air 
which was inhaled in the steamer, while all were 
in the saloon, or dining department, waiting for 
our guides to give us the numbers of our berths. 
There was considerable confusion and a great 
deal of dissatisfaction on account of our guides 
not having made proper arrangements with the 
captain beforehand. But in a few hours most of 
the sick passengers were all right again. 
There were almost more passengers on board of 
the steamer than by rights should have been, 
therefore the captain treated us to a very nice 
kind of wine, called u Hesti-wine" which foams 
more than common beer, during the meals of 
dinner and supper. After the steamer left Na- 
ples, and went out into the Mediterranean Sea, 
it being almost night, the city of Naples as well 
as the thousands of gas-lights around its magni- 
ficent bay afforded a most beautiful sight. As the 
beautiful city of Naples was lost to our view, the 
great Vesuvius showed us his monstrous flame 
of light for several hours. The next day, at 
about 1:30 P. M., the steamer arrived at Messina, 
and stopped until 3 o'clock P. M. Messina is a 
province of Sicily, including the north-east ex- 
tremity of the island, bordering on the Med- 



54 NAPLES, 

iterranean Sea and the strait of Messina, which 
separates it from Calabria. It has a population 
of about 129,000. The following morning at 
8 o'clock we saw the volcanos of iEtna and 
Etromboli, and they remained in view until 10 
o'clock in the evening. Mt. ^Etna is 10,872 feet 
high. The distance from Naples to Alexandria, 
Egypt is about 1,200 miles. 

Our sailing on the Mediterranean Sea was 
delightful ; the captain of the steamer saying : 
"That this trip was the finest he had made on 
the Mediterranean during the last twenty-five 
years. 

On the ocean, as long as the passengers can 
see land, they always have something that draws 
their attention, but when land and steamers are 
lost from view, and nothing but water and the fir- 
mament are to be seen, the passengers talk to 
each other in the most intimate manner. 

While we were on the Mediterranean Sea on 
our voyage to Alexandria, Monsignor Seton, of 
Jersey City, N. J., who was always in the best of 
humor, sat at the same table with Mr. John 
Hoebing, of Wall Lake, Iowa. The Monsignor, 
knowing Mr. Hoebing to be a pretty smart and 
jovial gentleman, among other questions asked 



ALEXANDRIA. 55 

him in a jovial manner: "John, have you any 
Monsignors in Iowa?" Mr. Hoebing, knowing in 
what way the question was meant, in his smart 
and unpretending way- of answering, said: "Well, 
I was at the New Orleans Exposition and there I 
ate mackerels, and in Italy macaronies, and I 
now know w 7 hat lazaronies are, (beggars, of whom 
there are so many in Italy) but Monsignors, I 
don't know what that is, I wouldn't know whether 
to eat them w T ith the spoon or fork." You can 
imagine, dear reader, if ever the old Monsignor 
burst out laughing, it was at this ingenious and 
unexpected answer. 

ARRIVAL AT ALEXANDRIA, (egypt). 

After having been on the Mediterranean for 
five and one-half days from Naples to Alexandria, 
we reached the latter city safely on Tuesday 
morning, April 2d, at 8 o'clock. The pilot, who 
guided our steamer at Alexandria, did not come 
on the board of the steamer as the}' usually do, 
but sailed alongside of our steamer in a skiff and 
thus safely guided it as far as the steamer could 
go. Immediately some of the Franciscan priests 
came from the shore to meet us as did Cook's 
men; the latter having the word "Cook's" in 



56 ALEXANDRIA. 

large red letters, on the chest of their white over- 
shirts, skillfully rowed us in skiffs to the shore 
of Egypt. As we first saw these Egyptians, 
whose costumes are so very much different from 
those of the Europeans, we were all amazed. 
From the wa}^ they dress, we sometimes can 
hardly tell a man from a woman. On coming 
to shore one of Cook's principal guides in Egypt 
came to meet us, and conducted us in carriages 
to the depot, where we deposited our baggage, 
and then drove to our hotel. Afterwards, we 
took a walk in the streets of Alexandria. Here 
in one Franciscan church the Fathers preach in 
five different languages, viz.: Maltese, Arabic, 
Italian, English and German. 

ALEXANDRIA. 

Alexandria, a city of Egypt, on the Mediter 
ranean, is 112 i^iiles north-west of Cairo, founded 
by Alexander the Great, after the destruction of 
Tyre, 332 b. c. In Alexandria the Scriptures 
were first made known to the heathen by the 
Septuagint version, and here Christianity early 
took root. Modern Alexandria looks rather like 
an Italian than an Oriental city. Large streets, 



ALEXANDRIA. 57 

along side of which are many beautiful palm, 
date and other tropical trees and shrubs, paved 
and lighted with gas, are seen in the European 
quarter, which abounds with fine residences. 
The great promenade of the Mehemet Ali Square, 
formerly the Square of - Consuls, is the central 
and most animated part of the city. The city 
has 300,000 inhabitants, including, besides Arabs, 
Copts, Turks, Persians, Armenians, and Jews, 
25.000 Greeks, 20,000 Italians, 15,000 French, 
12,000 English Maltese, 12,000 Levantines of 
miscellaneous European descent, 8,000 Germans 
and Swiss, 8,000 various foreigners, comprising 
a number of American officers in the Khedive's 
army and American engineers and missionaries. 
Railways connect the city with Cairo and the Suez 
Canal. It is as a place of transit for passengers 
that Alexandria is most remarkable, the steamers 
to and from India, the Mediterranean, and the 
Levant all contributing to the prosperity of the 
city. There are also a great many men-of-war 
here.*) 

EGYPTIAN COSTUMES. 
As the Egyptian costumes are so different 
*) Appleton's Cyclopaedia. 



58 ALEXANDRIA. 

from the European or American, and conse- 
quently interesting to the reader, I shall here 
give you a faint idea of some before I proceed 
any further. The Egyptian women are veiled, 
the veil three or four feet long and four inches 
wide, and hangs from the top of the nose down 
to their feet; a veil also covers their head, so 
that nothing can be seen of their face. Im- 
mediately above their nose they have a metallic 
horn containing two rows of teeth as those of a 
saw. This horn, which is three inches in length 
and is made of gold, silver or brass, is fastened 
around the head with a string. From this horn 
is suspended a veil, hanging down to the feet, 
which hides from view the Mohammedan women. 
On account of the intense heat, their wearing ap- 
parel is very light, and is made from velvets, silks 
or cheaper woven goods, as their means may al- 
low it. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish the 
men and women. The men wear long gowns 
called toga or burnus, made in black, white or 
some gay color. These togas are often very 
much tattered, some men even being seen in 
Paradise costume. Over this toga they wear a 
waistcoast, called kafifir, made of divers colors. 
They cover their heads with a skull-cap or fez, 



ALEXANDRIA. 59 

around which the}' wind a cloth, called turban, 
the color of which being a matter of taste. Those 
Mohammedans, however, who have made a pil- 
grimage to Mecca, are allowed the privilege of 
wearing a green turban. All wear a sash tied 
around their waist. Boots are not worn. The 
Arabians wear galoshes, low shoes or slippers^ 
some, however, going barefooted. 

The different classes of people are distin- 
guished by their various dress. An officer v. g. 
wears a black burnus and a white turban, while 
the fellahs (poor people) wear a Denim burnus 
and a red turban. The sc-called Tartars wear 
furs instead of a turban ; the Armenians a yellow 
kaffir, and the Dervishes (Mohammedan monks) 
a green or gray attire. 

HOW THE COUNTRY PEOPLE LIVE. 

We left Alexandria for Cairo, the capital of 
Egypt, April the second, at two o'clock in the 
afternoon. During this journey we had a good 
opportunity of observing how Egytian country 
people live. There are about eighty villages and 
stopping places between Alexandria and Cairo, a 
distance of about 128 miles, wdiich are often not 
a half mile apart. Owing to the low condition of 



6o 



ALEXANDRIA. 



the country, and for safety sake, the houses are 
built very closely together. 

The railroad tracks are much narrower than 
in America, the ties being made of iron. The 
cars are of a very uncomfortable size. The tele- 
graph posts are very low and generally made of 
stone. The wires are at least three times thicker 
than those in this country, and porcelain isolators 
are used. The locomotives are similar to those 
used in Europe. 

When a train nears a station, the majority of 
villagers eagerly rush to the depot and offer don- 
keys for sale. Vendors of confectioneries, fruits, 
etc., are very noisy, making it impossible to hear 
one's own words. Villages of 600 to 800 inhab- 
itants consist mostly of one-story buildings, built 
of stone, although the sheiks (chiefs) and English 
officers dwell in two-story houses more substan- 
tially built. As it seldom rains or gets cold, the 
fellahs live in small and low one-story dwellings, 
having one low door but no window. For pro- 
tection against the rays of the sun, the roof is 
covered with grass or bulrush. 

A village generally contains from 50 to 150 
such mud houses, which are separated from each 
other by crooked alleys, and surrounded by a mud 



EGYPT. 



61 



wall. The door answers the purpose of a chim- 
ney. Bake-oven, granary, chairs and all house 
furniture are made of mud. In such a hut can 
be found neither tables, stoves nor beds, but in- 
stead of all this are troughs for sheep, donkeys, 
goats and camels. Children are numerous, as are 
chickens and different species of animals. The 
manure is laid out in the sun to dry, and then is 
used as fuel. In one of these miserable huts 
often a man habitates with three or four women . 
Around these mud-huts sit or lie promiscuously 
people, camels, goats, sheep, buffalo-oxen, chick- 
ens, dogs, cats, etc., all constituting as it were one 
large family. 

The country is irrigated by the river Nile, 
throngh machinery resembling our wind-mills and 
drawn by buffalo-oxen. 

THE COUNTRY OF EGYPT. 

Egypt is in northeastern Africa. It is bounded 
on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the 
east by the Red Sea and a direct line from Suez 
to El-Arish, which is a seaport town on the Medi- 
terranean. There are few small rivers in Egypt 
which empty into the Red Sea, but the river Nile 



62 



EGYPT. 



is the main irrigator of the country. For over 
one hundred miles, which we traversed, the 
country is level, the soil being rich and magnifi- 
cent. 

The land is intersected with numerous canals, 
chiefly constructed to facilitate the distribution of 
the water of the Nile for irrigation. To irrigate 
the land, the inhabitants use wooden machinery, 
resembling a wind-mill, to which are fastened 
wooden buckets, similar to our old-fashioned 
water-pumps. The machinery is operated by 
camels or buffalo-oxen. 

Across the isthmus of Suez is a canal, uniting 
the Red Sea with the Mediterranean. This canal 
was begun in 1859, and opened to navigation in 
1869. Granite, sandstone and limestone is prin- 
cipally found in this region. The richness of the 
soil is renewed annually by the overflow of the 
Nile, the inundation bringing upon the land a 
coating of mud, which makes all manure useless. 
In many parts of the country ploughing is done 
away with altogether, as they throw the seed upon 
the mud, then a large number of sheep, goats or 
oxen are driven upon the fields and trample the 
grain into the mud. The plough is constructed 
entirely of wood, and drawn by buffalo-oxen, who 



CAIRO. 63 

walk eight feet apart. I and a few of our in- 
quisitive pilgrims ploughed with these miserable 
contraptions. In some other parts of the country, 
w 7 here artificial irrigation can be resorted to, con- 
siderable care and labor is bestowed upon agri- 
culture. Sometimes the inundation reaches a 
height of twenty-four feet, and in this height it 
remains for about fifteen days. Wheat, barley, 
beans, peas, lentils, clover, flax, lettuce, hemp, 
tobacco, watermelons and cucumbers are sown 
immediately after the inundation subsides, and 
after three or four months they are harvested. 
Wheat is ripe in the latter part of March. By 
artificial irrigation they raise in summer : Durra, 
maize, onions, sugar cane, cotton, coffee, indigo 
and madder. Grapes are plentiful, as are also 
dates, figs, pomegranates, apricots, peaches, 
oranges, lemons, citrons, olives, bananas and 
mulberries. 

CAIRO. 

At our arrival at Cairo, one half of our pil- 
grims were taken to Hotel Shepherds, owned by 
Philip Zech, a German, and the other one half 
were taken to Hotel New, both being elegant 
hostelries and well conducted. Cairo is situated 



64 CAIRO. 

1 20 miles southeast of Alexandria. It numbers 
400,000 inhabitants, of whom by far the largest 
number are Mohammedans ; 70,000 Copts, and 
the rest chiefly native Jews, Greeks, Armenians 
and Europeans. It lies in the beautiful, fertile 
and level plain of the Nile Valley, and has a cir- 
cumference of eight miles. From without it pre- 
sents a grand and beautiful spectacle, but within 
it is not attractive. The houses of the poor people 
are only one-story high, and built of mud or 
bricks baked in the sun. The richer people have 
houses of brick, wood, and a soft stone quarried 
from the mountains of Mokattan, which are near 
by, some of the houses being two or three 
stories high. The streets are narrow, unpaved, 
dusty and very much neglected, although in the 
principal parts of the city and suburbs they are 
wide enough for carriages. It seldom rains at 
Cairo, and a heavy shower is considered almost 
a calamity, for then the moistened garbage, which 
is so abundant in the streets, undergoes speedy 
decomposition, the exhalations of which are pes- 
tiferous. Another cause of disease is the stag- 
nant water in May and June which, by means of 
a canal, is conveyed into the city whenever the 
Nile overflows. Horses are rarely employed, 



CAIRO. 65 

donkeys being mostly used. Carriages are, and 
can only be, used in a few streets. At hotels, or 
at any other public place, Arabian boys can be 
seen at almost any hour of the da}' or night with 
donkeys, which they offer to strangers to take 
them to any part of the city. Our hotel-keeper 
advised us not to go with them at night, as it is 
not considered safe. 

The Arabian boy accompanies his donkey and 
the tourist wherever the journey leads to, and 
they keep pace with the donkey, their durability 
being nearly equal to our American horses. 

There are many inns and large store-houses 
in Cairo. Its bazaars, some of which we visited, 
are very extensive, and present a good display 
of oriental merchandise. Its four hundred 
mosques are the pride of Cairo, some of which 
are elegant specimens of Arabian architecture. 
We visited the most renowned mosque, that of 
Sultan Hassan, which is built near the citadel. 
The entrance is magnificently embellished with 
tracery. Its interior court has no roof. There is 
on each side a square recess, covered with a fine 
arch, and towards the east a niche for praying 
and a pulpit, containing elegant, various colored 

glass vases of Syrian manufacture, which bear 

6 



66 



CAIRO. 



the Sultan's name. We also visited the mosque 
of Mehemet Ali, and the citadel, which affords a 
fine view of the city, the Nile and the pyramids. 

In the center of the mosques is a water fom% 
at which each person, who enters to worship, 
must wash feet and hands. When praying, the 
worshippers kneel, frequently touching the floor 
with their foreheads. They arise and often re- 
peat the ceremony. During prayer they must all 
turn their faces towards a niche, which each 
mosque contains, and which is turned towards 
Mecca. Before entering a mosque, we were 
obliged to take off our shoes or boots and wear 
old and worn red slippers, which the janitor has 
ready for visitors at the entrance. Some of our 
party often lost these large slippers and, not 
thinking the place to be so holy, we thought that 
we could walk without them ; but the janitor 
would soon be upon us, scolding and making us 
put them on again. The Mohammedans are more 
particular about their feet than their heads, as it 
is allowed to keep the hat on. 

In one church in Cairo, services are held in 
eight different rites or languages. 

As the different races of people, who live in 
Cairo, inhabit various quarters, we find the Jewish 



CAIRO. 67 

quarter, the French quarter, the Coptic quarter, 
etc. The entrances, which lead to the different 
quarters, are closed at night. 

For police regulation, the city is divided into 
eight wards, and all officers of the city are under 
one chief. Each sheikh, or head, is, generally 
speaking, responsible for the conduct of his 
people. The Khedive has a theatre for French 
comedy and an opera house. 

The immense annual pilgrimage to Mecca as- 
sembles at Cairo, and, as the}' carry a large stock 
of goods for traffic, their departure and return to 
Cairo is a remarkable source of wealth. 

The Mohammedans place eatables upon the 
graves of their deceased every Thursday evening. 
By the next morning they have been eaten by 
dogs, they, however, believing that the spirits of 
the deceased have eaten them. 

Many of our pilgrims took carriages for Hele- 
opolis, about six miles from Cairo, to see the tree 
under which the Blessed Virgin is said to have 
rested with the child Jesus, during their stay in 
Egypt. We also visited a Coptic church near 
Cairo, w 7 here the Holy Family rested for a month, 
and saw T the spot where the Blessed Virgin sat 
w 7 ith the Divine Infant. 



68 



CAIRO. 



Whilst we were here, an Arabian, who had 
some of the horns which the Egyptian women 
wear, and which I described before, offered one 
for sale to one of our pilgrims. " Oh," said our 
American, "we have no wives." "Well," said 
the vendor, " you can get one over here for five 
piasters." (One piaster is equal to about five 
cents of our money.) 

We were told that an aspirant for a preacher 
or priest in the Greek Church is asked three 
questions by his bishop. If he can write ; if not, 
to learn it; if he has a beard ; if not, to raise one; 
if he has money ; if not, to get some. They 
surely do not require much. 

AUDIENCE WITH THE KHEDIVE. 

During our three days' stay at Cairo, we also 
had the honor of an audience with the Khedive 
of Egypt. Mr. Caldwell, of Texas, Tenn., 
American Consul, at the court of Cairo at the 
time, procured for us this interesting audience, 
and kindly introduced us to the Khedive, who 
shook hands with each of us in a friendly manner. 
The consul had previously made us acquainted 
with the customary ceremonies. The ladies of 
the pilgrimage were excluded from the audience, 



CAIRO. 69 

as the women are considered by the Egyptians as 
slaves more or less. The Khedive Theofuz, who 
died January the tenth, 1892, was quite a young 
man of handsome appearance. In addressing us, 
he spoke English very well and fluently. Prince 
Abbas, his son, who is now the Khedive, was 
born July the fourteenth, 1874. He attended the 
university at Vienna at the time of the death of 
his father, and among other languages, also 
studied the German. 

Rt. Reverend Bishop Joseph Rademacher ad- 
dressed the Khedive in the name of the pilgrims 
in a few eloquent and well-chosen words, and also 
thanked His Majesty for being so kind and good 
to the Catholics of Egypt. During the audience, 
the Khedive treated us to a small cup of black 
coffee, which his servants brought to us on beauti- 
ful gold-plated waiters. This is considered quite 
a treat by the Orientals. After this, the Khedive 
conversed with us for quite a while; then he 
dismissed us by again shaking hands with each 
one. 

THE BOULAK MUSEUM. 

We next went to Boulak, one mile northwest 
of Cairo. This town, rebuilt by Mehemet Ali, 



70 CAIRO. 

had at one time over five thousand inhabitants, 
but in the eighteenth century it was burnt down 
by the French. Here is a museum in which the 
different celebrated antique collections are ar- 
ranged according to their civil or religious char- 
acter, the most antique being placed most con- 
spicuously. 

We saw here three statues which date back to 
the age of the shepherd-kings. One of the vesti- 
bules is filled with relics of the most ancient 
Egyptian art. Here we beheld wooden statues 
belonging to the fourth dynasty, and a granite 
statue of Cephren, who built the second pyramid. 
Still more interesting than all of this is the im- 
mense collection, of furniture, household articles, 
implements used by the Egyptians, glass and 
earthenware, etc. This was the most curious and 
interesting museum we saw. 

We saw here, for the first time, Egyptian 
mummies. A muirimy is a body embalmed so as 
to preserve it from decay. This custom was 
somewhat practiced by the Persians, Assyrians, 
Etheopians, Romans, Hebrews and Greeks, but 
was mostly in use by the Egyptians, as they em" 
balmed all their dead. The Egyptian mummies, 
found to-day in their sepulchres, some of which 



CAIRO. 71 

have been preserved for more than four thousand 
years, show us how perfectly this art was under- 
stood by them even in those remote ages. They 
embalmed reptiles and animals, which were held 
sacred by them. It seems wonderful to us 
whence they obtained the many drugs and spices, 
which were required for this process of embalm- 
ing, when we learn that they embalmed all human 
bodies, as well as several millions of dogs, apes, 
crocodiles, cats, bulls, rams, foxes and other ani- 
mals, in all more than fifty species. 

The following is their most perfect process of 
embalming: They use a bent piece of iron with 
which the brains are taken out through the nost- 
rils ; then the skull is cleared with drugs, after 
which a cut is made along the flank with a sharp 
Etheopian stone ; after the intestines are taken 
out, they wash the cavity with palm wine, after 
which it is filled with pure myrrh and the open- 
ing sewed up. After this the body is covered 
and placed in natron for sixty days ; after which 
the body is wrapped from head to foot with band- 
ages of pure linen, coated with gum, and enclosed 
in a case made of cloth, cemented together. This 
is done when the body is damp, so as to get the 
exact shape. It is afterward sewed up in the 



72 CAIRO. 

back; then richly painted and gilded, the face 
either colored, so as to make it look natural, or 
overlaid with thick gold leaf, and eyes, made of 
enamel, put in. Thereupon it is enclosed in a 
wooden case, man-shaped, and placed in an up- 
right position against the wall in a sepulchral 
chamber. The bandages, which are sometimes 
over one thousand yards long, differ very much 
in quality, coarse canvas to the finest linen 
being used. The features are natural, and teeth, 
hair and eyebrows well preserved. Mummies 
are easily broken as they are dried and very light. 

BOAT-RIDE ON THE NIEE AND DONKEY- 
RIDE TO THE PYRAMIDS. 

The Nile is the principal river of Africa, and 
one of the most famous and largest of the world. 
From Cairo we took a twenty minutes' drive in 
carriages to the Nile, where we went aboard 
the steamer " Prince Mohamed Ali." We passed 
the island of Roda, where it is supposed Moses was 
found. We took the boat at Boolak, the port of 
Cairo, and went up the Nile as far as Mitrahenny. 
We also passed a town called Tura, from where 
the stones, used in building the pyramids, were 
taken. 



CAIRO. 73 

Before we left Cairo, the men purchased 
white straw hats, and white veils which were fas- 
tened to the hat, and on account of the intense 
heat, also took our umbrellas with us. Our 
guides had ordered some Arabian boys to be in 
readiness for us at Mitrahenny, with their don- 
keys. We had brought our saddles along on the 
boat from Cairo, so that when we arrived at Mitra- 
henny we saw over one hundred donkeys. As 
we neared the bank, the Arabian boys waded to 
the boat, each one holding out his hands for a 
saddle. When one would be handed them from 
the boat they would run with it and place it on 
their donkey, whereupon we hurriedly followed 
so as to secure a donkey. The boys were very 
noisy, patting their donkeys and praising them 
to the pilgrims. The donke}^s are named such 
as Czar Nikolaus, Grant, George Washington, 
Augusta Victoria, Ibrahim Mahomed, etc. 

Now began the donkey-race. One after the 
other galloped away, the drivers running along- 
side, without waiting for our guides, and within 
a short while more than twelve of us fell to the 
ground, those following us falling over us. Al- 
though it was dangerous, it was also very amus- 
ing. 



74 CAIRO. 

Finally we arrived at Memphis, the old city 
of the Pharaohs', which, in the time of Joseph of 
Egypt and the vizeroy, was a renowned place. 
We find ruins and excavations everywhere. At 
one of these ruins, the corn-crib of Joseph was 
shown us. We also saw a granite statue of 
Rameses II , which he had ordered made and to 
be adored as God. We walked around this colos- 
sal statue, which is twenty feet in height, weighs 
five tons, and is well preserved. Rameses II. or- 
dered all male children drowmed in the Nile. 
Moses was saved by his mother placing him in a 
basket. 

After having stopped here for fully half an 
hour, w^e again mounted the donkeys and crossed 
the Desert of Sakarah. We could hardly endure 
the heat ; drinking water was not to be seen nor 
to be had. We made one stop at an inn, built of 
stone, where we partook of dinner, which our 
guides had brought along from Cairo. 

THE SERAPEUM. 

After dinner we visited the mausoleum of the 
sacred bulls, which during Pharaoh's regime was 
a large building, but now it is completely covered 
with sand. After we had reached the Serapeum, 



CAIRO. 75 

or resting place of the sacred bulls, we descended 
a flight of sixty or seventy steps, which landed 
us in this immense building, which at one time 
was above the ground. Our guides conducted us 
through the principal hall, which is 700 feet long 
and 30 feet wide, and we were obliged to use 
torches so as to enable us to see. To our right 
and left we beheld large halls, which contained 
beautiful stone coffins, standing on pedestals 
about six by ten feet in diameter. Some of us 
looked into one of these sarkophagus, but could 
see only a few ashes. 

We also went into the mines of the Sakarah 
pyramids and Mustaba a Ti, where the Egyptians 
buried their kings, which are located in the Desert 
of the Sakarah. From here we went a distance 
of fifteen miles, but which did not seem to us to 
be more than five, to 

THE SPHINX. 

" Sphinx, a fabulous monster of Greek myth- 
ology, which generally was represented as having 
the head and breast of a woman and the body of 
a lion." 

The Egyptian Sphinx had the head of a man? 
shaved, and the body of a lion, in which way 



76 CAIRO. 

they differed from the Greek sphinxes. They 
were placed in front of their temples, to signify 
the mysterious nature of their deity. 

The great Sphinx, by the pyramids, is to rep- 
resent King Cephren, who built the second pyra- 
mid, but according to the inscription it was 
sculptured before the time of the builder of the 
first pyramid, Cheops. 

From the top of the head to the chin, this 
Sphinx measures twenty-eight feet, and the body 
is 146 feet high. Across the shoulders it meas- 
ures thirty-six feet, and the paws extend fifty 
feet. The paws are built of masonry, while the 
rest seems to have been carved from the solid 
rock. Between the paws a small temple was 
built of masonry. The Sphinx has been exam- 
ined and found to be of one piece of stone. The 
face is at present so mutilated that the features 
can hardly be traced. 

THE PYRAMIDS. 

We next inspected the largest pyramid, that 
of Cheops, which is near the Sphinx. This pyra- 
mid is the largest stone structure in the world. 

Pyramids are constructed of large blocks of 
stone, taken from the quarries of the Nile. The 



CAIRO. 77 

stones are of extraordinary dimensions ; their 
transportation to the pyramids and adjustment in 
their places indicate a surprising degree of mech- 
anical skill in those primative times, which we 
can hardly comprehend. The stones average 
two feet by four or six feet. The foundations of 
these pyramids were excavated in solid rock 
about ten feet deep ; upon this foundation the 
large stones were laid in layers, the space being 
well filled out with smaller stones. These pyra- 
mids run to a point, and when they were con- 
structed, the nnmber of workmen must have 
been comparatively small for want of room. 
They are one of the seven wonders of the world. 

The three pyramids near Memphis are about 
125 feet above the highest rise of the Nile, and 
their four sides are directed towards the cardinal 
points. This p3^ramid of Cheops covers thirteen 
acres ; its former height was 480 feet, but it is at 
present only 450 feet. The weight is estimated 
at six million tons. There is a passage-way on 
the north side, three feet ten inches high and 
three feet wide. It is supposed that originally 
sepulchral chambers for Egyptian kings were 
here. 

Six or seven of our pilgrims ascended this 



78 



CAIRO. 



pyramid, which cannot be done without the aid 
of guides. There are always some Arabians 
about, who take strangers to the top of the pyra- 
mids. Two take the traveler by the hand and 
one supports him from the back. This usually 
costs one dollar, sometimes less. There is a 
regular path leading up, which is known best 
and probably only to these guides. 

After completing our inspection of the pyra- 
mids, the Arabians took their donkeys home and 
we took carriages for Cairo. We were glad it 
was over, as we were very tired of this novel ride, 
which was our first experiment of riding on the 
celebrated Egyptian donkeys in that hot sun. 

We left Cairo again Thursday evening, at ten 
o'clock, and took the train for Ismailia. 

THE BEDOUINS. 

It took us eight hours before we reached our 
place of destination. We came through the 
Arabian Desert,, where it is barren. Telegraph 
posts are made of stone, and the depots are poorly 
built. Upon the arrival of trains, the Bedouins 
and other inhabitants of the desert, rush in great 
numbers to the depots, offering donkeys and 
Arabian horses for sale. 



CAIRO. 79 

As we here meet Bedouins for the first time, 
I think it not amiss to give a short description of 
them. 

The Bedouins (dwellers of the desert) are a 
tribe of Arabians and also of the eastern and 
southeastern parts of Syria. They are found to 
live in tribes of about twenty thousand men, 
wandering from place to place, as the flocks re- 
quire it. From the earliest ages they have led a 
pastoral life, living in tents and rearing cattle, 
which they sell in the cities. They plunder, and 
spend their leisure time in horse-racing, telling 
stories and smoking* The women and slaves 
must perform all the housework ; the men milk- 
ing and spinning. The land, which they own, is 
cultivated by the neighboring farmers, who re- 
ceive one-third of the produce as a compensation 
for their services. The women are mostly hair- 
dressers, and spend considerable time in curling 
the locks of their husbands. The children tend 
to the flocks. The Bedouin despises ail labor, 
and agriculture he considers beneath his dignity. 
He is fierce and war-like, not for patriotism, as he 
claims no country, but only for the sake of plun- 
der. Nearly every tribe has a poet, who pro- 
claims the deeds of their heroes. They are very 



So 



CAIRO. 



much attached to their horses, and are considered 
the best riders of the world. They live princip- 
ally on rice and coffee and the flesh and milk of 
their flock. They abhor living in buildings, and 
when compelled to go to towns to sell wood, 
grain or cattle, they make their stay as short as 
possible. They are of medium height, are not 
easily fatigued and can stand the exposure to the 
greatest heat and sands of the desert. They are 
generally clothed only in a cotton shirt, fastened 
around the waist with a leather girdle. The 
sheikh and the wealthy wear a long scarlet shirt, 
carrying in their girdle their customary weapons, 
pistols and a short dagger. Around their heads 
they wear a woolen or silk shawl, embroidered 
with gold lace. Their boots are clumsily made 
of red or yellow leather. They are revengeful, 
superstitious and very ignorant, but at the same 
time are hospitable. They have a criminal code 
only for murder. Each tribe has its sheikh or 
chief, who leads them to battle and acts as arbi-' 
trator in differences. When danger threatens, 
they retire to their deserts, as the wells are known 
only to them, and it is almost impossible for their 
enemies to follow them. 



THE SUEZ CANAL. 8 1 

We arrived at Ismailia, which is one hundred 
and fifty miles from Cairo, about five o'clock. 

ISMAILIA. 

Ismailia is a town of Lower Egypt, being sit- 
uated on the Suez Canal. It has a population of 
4,500. After having breakfasted, we took an 
eight minutes' w 7 alk to the Suez Canal, and im- 
mediately one-half of the pilgrims took a steamer 
for Port Said, on the Suez Canal. The other 
one-half were obliged to wait for another steamer. 
The Suez Canal was begun simultaneously at 
Port Said and at Suez, and while the w r ork was 
going on, Port Said was a central seat. It was 
called thus after the Khedive. 

THE SUEZ CANAL. 

The Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea are 
divided by the Isthmus of Suez, which connects 
Africa and Asia. The Suez Canal is about 160 
miles in length and about 150 steps in width, the 
land along the canal being only about eight feet 
above the sea level. The surrounding country is 
mostly a barren, sandy desert, and sparsely inhab- 
ited. It is supposed that the Mediterranean and 

the Red Sea were formerly connected and that 

7 



82 



PORT SAID. 



the isthmus was under water. Two ships can 
easily pass each other. The Israelites, on their 
exodus from Egypt, are supposed to have crossed 
the Red Sea a short distance beyond the head of 
the Gulf of Suez. The canal was opened in 
November, 1869. 

The weather was pleasant and thus we could 
observe everything well, on both sides of the 
canal. We saw only one small landing town, 
called Kantarah, along the whole distance from 
Ismailia to Port Said. We had the Continent of 
Asia to our right and Africa to our left. We 
passed several boats, which are continually at 
work dredging the canal of mud and the sand, 
which is blown in by the strong winds. The 
navigable water is indicated by buoys on "each 
side. In order that the large steamers may give 
way to each other, certain places are marked. 
When two steamers pass each other, the one 
which goes with the tide must rack, while the 
other passes on. ■ 

PORT SAID. 

We arrived at Port Said about twelve o'clock 
noon and, after having taken dinner, some of us 
took a walk through the town. 



PORT SAID, 83 

Port Said is a semi-European town of Egypt, 
at the junction of the Suez Canal with the Medi- 
terranean Sea, and has a population of about 
9,000. It has one Catholic and one Greek church. 
Rev. George Meyer, of Fryburg, Pa., and myself 
visited the Greek church and had everything ex- 
plained to us. This town grew up since the con- 
struction of the Suez Canal. About one thcusand 
ships land here annually. Outside of that there 
is no commerce. Vehicles are not seen in Port 
Said and everything is carried. Here we saw so- 
called water-carriers for the first time. They 
sew the hides of donkeys or goats together, tie 
straps around them, place them around their 
shoulders, and thus they perform a corporal work 
of mercy, provided they are paid. If they have 
lemonade to sell in these donkeys, they clap two 
shells together to draw attention. An American 
or European must indeed be very thirsty before 
he will drink from such a costly and tasteful 
vessel. 

About five o'clock in the evening we left Port 
Said on the steamer " Sheikiah," for Jaffa, in the 
Holy Land. 



8 4 



JAFFA. 



JAFFA. 

We had a most pleasant time on the Mediter- 
ranean Sea to Jaffa. The pilgrims were in such 
a good humor that they were on deck and sang 
during the whole evening. It sounds most 
beautiful on the sea, especially at night when the 
sea is calm. At daybreak of the next morning 
Jaffa was in sight. Our captain said that at Jaffa 
steamers could not land at all times, but have to 
wait until the waves subside. This is one of the 
most dangerous landing places in the world. On 
that account it has no jetties, so that vessels stop 
about one thousand steps or more from the land. 
Along the harbor is a reef of rocks, forming a 
kind of natural breakwater, which shelters boats 
and small vessels. 

Cook's men immediately came in seven small 
boats to take us and our baggage ashore. Jaffa 
boatmen are very noisy ; they seem to think that 
the more noise and gesticulations they make and 
the louder they shout, the more passengers they 
will get. A person seeing them for the first time, 
and who is unacquainted with their customs, 
would not know what it is all about. 

We were also met at the steamer by some 



JAFFA. 85 

Franciscan Fathers from Jaffa, and Brother Ber- 
nardin, O. S. F., from Jerusalem, who then ac- 
companied us through Palestine. As soon as we 
put foot on the Holy Land, some kissed the 
ground. We were obliged to pass the custom 
officials, but they were very lenient towards us. 
Our guide, Mr. Jannilly, an Italian, immediately 
conducted us to the Franciscan convent, where 
we were received with the greatest hospitality. 
After a little while he took us to the Greek church 
of St. Joseph's Orphan House, the bazaars, the 
house where St. Peter had the vision of the pure 
and impure animals, and also to the house where 
he resuscitated Tabitha. 

It is at Jaffa (the Joppe of the ancients) where 
the pilgrims generally enter the Holy Land. It 
is about forty miles southeast of Jerusalem, and 
passes for one of the most ancient cities in the 
world. According to tradition (when in the 
future I use the word tradition, I mean human, 
not divine tradition) it existed before the deluge. 
It is picturesquely situated on a round hill. It is 
a labyrinth of blind 'alle}'S and delapidated streets, 
which are narrow and dirty, although from a dis- 
tance the city looks well. The aspect of the city 
is sad and silent. It has only two gates, both 



86 JAFFA. 

opening towards the east. The number of in- 
habitants is as follows: 350 Latins, 375 United 
Greeks, 50 Maronites, 700 Schismatic Greeks, 10 
Schismatic Armenians, 10 Protestants, 400 Jews, 
and 4 300 Musselmen. 

It was here where Noah built the ark, as God 
had commanded him ; destroyed by the waters of 
the deluge, it was rebuilt by Japhet (son of Noah) ; 
hence it was called Jaffa. Jonah came here to 
embark, in order to fly from Tharsis, far from the 
Lord, who had commanded him to go to Ninaveh. 
It was at Jaffa where Hiram, King of Tyre, em- 
barked the timber, cut on Mount Libanus, to be 
sent to Solomon, which was to be used in the 
construction of the temple, built in honor of the 
true God. It was from here that the apostles 
went forth into the different parts of the world 
to preach the Gospel, as the Divine Master had 
commanded them. 

We left Jaffa, in covered spring wagons, for 
Ramleh, on Saturday, April 6th, at one o'clock 
in the afternoon. 

In 1867, under the government of Nazif Pasha, 
Governor of Jerusalem, a road from Jaffa to the 
Holy City was commenced at the cost of the in- 
habitants of the district, to serve as a road for 



LEAVING JAFFA. 87 

riding and for light carriages. Since we were 
there, however, a railroad has been built from 
Jaffa to Jerusalem. 

I, for my part, am not in favor of railroads in 
the Holy City, for in course of time the whole 
aspect will be changed. I admit that railroads 
make traveling easier. I would also rather have 
taken a train to Jerusalem and other places (al- 
though the accommodations are very poor) than 
fall off donkeys or to be tossed around on those 
wagons to Jerusalem. If we see Jerusalem now, 
we see it almost as it looked in the days of Christ ; 
no rolling-mills, smoke-stacks, foundries, engines, 
depots and railroads. Of course, like all other 
things, this has its pro and contra, to some extent 
at least. 

LEAVING JAFFA. 

As we got beyond the Jaffa gate, the road led 
in a southeastern direction, and we passed a large 
market with all kinds of productions, such as 
oranges, citrons, pomegranates, bananas, sugar 
canes, etc. This market is so crowded that 
drivers must pay close attention that their horses 
do no damage, and to avoid disputes and quarrels, 
which Orientals like very much to cause. After 



88 



LEAVING JAFFA. 



we had passed the market, the highroad led 
by gardens, which were remarkable for their 
fertility. The greater number of them are filled 
with orange and lemon trees and pomegranates. 

After a ride of fifteen minutes, we reached a 
beautiful fountain of potable water, in a square, 
in which were planted cypress and sycamore trees. 
It is believed that in a garden to the north of 
this fountain, was situated the residence of 
Tabitha, restored to life by St. Peter. (Acts of 
the Apostles ; chap, ix, v. 36 : " And in Joppe 
there was a certain disciple named Tabitha; this 
woman was full of good works and alms-deeds 
which she did." V. 38 : "And forasmuch as 
Lydda w^as nigh unto Joppe, the disciples, hearing 
that Peter was there, sent unto him two men to 
come unto them." V. 39: "And Peter, rising 
up, went with them ; and when he was come, 
they brought him into an upper chamber/' V. 40 : 
" And, the} 7 all being put forth, Peter, kneeling 
down, prayed, and* turning to the body, he said: 
' Tabitha, arise.' And she opened her eyes and, 
seeing Peter, she sat up." V. 41 : " And, giving 
her his hand, he lifted her up.") 

Leaving this fountain to the right, we con- 
tinued for about fifteen minutes, still passing 



LEAVING JAFFA. 89 

through gardens, and, after having crossed a little 
stone bridge, we entered the lovely plain of Saron, 
which resembles a carpet of flowers at this time 
of the year. This fertile plain gives, alternately 
one year an abundant harvest, and the next, rich 
pasturage, with countless beautiful flowers, among 
which we find tulips and acnemonies. It is cele- 
brated as the spot where Samson burnt the har- 
vest of the Philistines by letting loose three 
hundred foxes with lighted torches tied to their 
tails. (Judges; chap, xv, v. 4: " And he (Samson) 
went and caught three hundred foxes and coupled 
them tail to tail, and fastened torches between 
the tails." V. 5: 46 And setting them on fire, he 
let the foxes go, that the} 7 might run about hither 
and thither ; and the flames consumed also the 
vineyards and the olive-yards.") 

After riding twenty-five minutes longer, we 
passed a small tower— a small stone house — of 
which we saw several along the road from Jaffa 
to Jerusalem. They are guard-houses, and were 
built in i860, by order of Sureya, Pasha of Jeru- 
salem. There are two or three soldiers, called 
Bachibouzouk, stationed here to guard the road 
and prevent brigandage. Further on, to the left, 
we passed a little village, consisting of a few 



90 LYDDA. 

miserable huts> built on a sandy soil. At a dis- 
tance, towards the south, near Ramleh, we saw 
the tower of the forty martyrs. After driving 
along for forty minutes longer, we came to Lydda. 

LYDDA. 

Lydda has a Latin missionary, 55 Catholics, 
1940 Schismatic Greeks, a few Prostestants, and 
about 4,000 Mussulmen. It was here that the 
Apostle Peter cured the paralytic Eneas. (Acts 
of Apostles; chap, ix, v. 32: "And it came to 
pass that Peter, as he passed through, visiting all, 
came to the saints who dwelt at Lydda." V. 33 : 
" And he found there a certain man named Eneas, 
who had kept his bed for eight years, who was 
ill of the palsy." V. 34 : " And Peter said to him: 
' Eneas, the Lord Jesus Christ healeth thee ! Arise 
and make thy bed.' And immediately he arose." 
V. 35 : " And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron> 
saw him, who were converted to the Lord.") 

After being about thirty minutes' ride from 
Lydda, we reached the convent of the Franciscan 
Fathers of the Holy Land, at Ramleh. 

RAMLEH. 

Ramleh is the ancient Arimathea, and the 
country of Joseph of Arimathea, who helped bury 



RAMXKH. 91 

our Lord. (Gospel of St. John ; chap, xix, v. 38 : 
" After these things, Joseph of Arimathea be- 
sought Pilate that he might take away the body 
of Jesus . . . " V. 42 : . " There therefore 
. . . they laid Jesus.") In 1296 the Fran- 
ciscans established themselves in a private house 
at Ramleh in order to- evangelize the people and 
lodge pilgrims. 

Ramleh is a dirty town of 4,000 inhabitants, 
divided into 3,000 Mussulmen, 400 Schismatic 
Greeks, 100 Catholics, and a few Protestant 
families. 

After we had taken a little refreshment with 
the Franciscan Fathers, we visited the tower of 
the forty martyrs, situated ten minutes west of 
the convent. It was built in 13 10 by the Sultan 
of Egypt, Mahomet, son of Kalaoun, upon the 
site of an ancient church, whose name it bears, 
and dedicated to the forty martyrs, who died un- 
der the reign of Lucinus, at Sebaste, in Armenia, 
in the beginning of the fourth century. On our 
way to this. tower, we for the first time saw lepers; 
twelve of these unfortunates sitting in the grass 
and stretching out their mutilated hands at us for 
"bakchiche" (money), which expression we had 
occasion to hear very often during our stay in 



92 



RAMIyKH. 



Palestine. Some of our party threw some money 
to them, so that they would not follow us, as 
leprosy is contagious. There are various kinds 
of leprosy. These lepers w T ere afflicted with the 
so-called dry leprosy. Some of them had muti- 
lated fingers and toes, some of them being en- 
tirely eaten away ; others had no nose or were 
mutilated in some other part of the body. 

After we arrived at the tow r er, which is about 
one hundred feet high, some of us ascended it to 
the top, from whence we had a magnificent view, 
through our telescopes, of the country along the 
sea to the mountains of Judea. Near by is an 
old church of St. John from the first century. 
Returning from the tower, we visited the bazaars. 

The next morning, it being Passion Sunday 
(April 7th), w r e said Early Mass, after which we 
continued our journey. Along the road, some of 
our wagons stopped for a short time ; during 
which time we went to some Mussulmen, who 
were ploughing in this stony prairie with oxen 
and Arabian Libidda (ploughs). Although it was 
Sunda}^, we tried their new kind of ploughs. 
These Mussulmen keep their Sabbath on Friday. 



LATROUM. 



93 



LATROUM. 

After we had journeyed eastward for nearly 
an hour, we came to a small spring and a hill 
called Eatroum. Here the plain of Saron ends 
and the mountains of Judea begin. The hill is 
covered with ruins, which appear to be very an- 
cient ; it is inhabited by some poor cultivators 
(fellahs) and by two Bachibouzouks, who occupy 
the guard-tower. Tradition places here the resi- 
dence of Dismas, the Egyptian, surnamed the 
good thief, because he w 7 as converted on the cross. 
(Gospel of St. Euke ; chap, xxiii, v. 42: ' 4 And 
he said to Jesus : ' Lord, remember me w 7 hen Thou 
shalt come into Thy kingdom !' " V. 43 : " And 
Jesus said to him : ' Amen, I say to thee, this day 
thou shalt be with me in Paradise ' ") 

Ten minutes farther, to the left of Latroum, 
is situated Emmois, the ancient Emaus, cele- 
brated for the battle of Judas Macchabeus against 
Georgius, King of Syria. After having proceeded 
for another hour, we reached a stone bridge, built 
across the torrent Terebinthe, whence David took 
five stones, wherewith to fill his sling against 
Goliath, whom he killed in the valley. (I. Kings; 
chap, xxi, v. 9 : <£ And the priest said : ' Eo, here 



94 TKREBINTHE. 

is the sword of Goliath, the Philistine, whom 
thou slewest in the Valley of Terebinth !"') In 
this torrent, some of our pilgrims gathered some 
large stones, which they, however, discarded 
again, after having carried them along for awhile, 
knowing that at the holy places they would get 
more precious mementos than these worthless 
stones, which came down from the mountains. 
Here we took some lunch and stopped for about 
two hours. 

Some Franciscan Fathers from Jerusalem 
came to meet us here, and told us that we would 
have to stay here for some time, as the Schismatic 
Greeks would not let us enter the Holy Sepulchre 
Church before five o'clock, as they themselves 
had service until then. They also told , us that 
those Greeks would not allow us to enter the 
church with the cross on our American banner 
(this banner I described in the beginning of this 
book) ; so I helped Father Vissany take the 
cross off. 

We did not care to stay here that long, as we 
knew that we were only a short distance from 
Jerusalem, and w r ere very anxious to be there. 
Finally we continued our journey up the hill, 
expecting to see Jerusalem every moment. Many 



JERUSALEM. 95 

of us stepped from the wagons and ran ahead, 
picking flowers along the road. Not seeing the 
Holy City, we were finally tired out, walking in 
the hot sun ; so we told our drivers to stop and 
take us along again. At last we could tell that 
we were near Jerusalem, on account of the great 
number of people who met us. Only a few 
moments longer and behold, we see Jerusalem, 
the principal aim of our pilgrimage, before us. 
Words are inadequate to express the feelings of 
a Catholic, when, for the first time, he sees the 
Holy City. 

OUR ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM. 

Now we stopped and six or eight of our 
Arabian guides, who met us at Jaffa and accom- 
panied us on our tour through Palestine, took 
our valises in care and brought them to the Fran- 
ciscan hospice, " Casa Nuova." The American 
consul met us here and told us to place the cross 
upon our banner ; that he w r ould see us through 
all right. We now formed a procession, headed 
by our banner, carried by Rev. George Meyer, 
and thus we marched into the Holy City through 
the gate called b}^ Europeans, " Gate of Jaffa," 



g6 JERUSALEM. 

and by the inhabitants, '-Gate of Bethlehem," or 
of Hebron, chanting the CXXI. Psalm : 

1. I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: 
" We shall go into the house of the Lord." 

2. Our feet were standing in thy courts, O 
Jerusalem ! 

3. Jerusalem, which is built as a city, which is 
compact together. 

4. For thither did the tribes go up, the tribes of 
the Lord. 

5. Because their seats have sat in judgment, 
seats upon the house of David. 

6. Pray ye for the things that are for the peace 
of Jerusalem and abundance for them that 
love thee. 

7. Let peace be in thy strength, and abundance 
in thy towers* 

8. For the sake of my brethren and of my 
neighbors, I spoke peace of thee. 

9. Because of the house of the Lord, our God, 
I have sought good things for thee. 

Thus, at last, we entered the Holy Sepulchre 
Church, where we were received by some Fran- 
ciscan Fathers and little Arabian Mass-boys, who 
joined in with our singing and surprised us all 



JERUSALEM. 97 

with their loud and clear voices. They conducted 
us to the Holy Sepulchre, which is in the center 
of the church; where Rt. Rev. Bishop Joseph 
Rademacher addressed us with a few touching 
words, saying that " we are now kneeling at the 
Holy Sepulchre, and should thank Almighty God 
for having so graciously repaid us for the hard- 
ships which we had endured on our journey and 
we should praise Him now for this inexpressible 
blessing." After this, we all, two or three at a 
time, entered the costly chapel of the Holy 
Sepulchre, knelt down, venerated and kissed the 
Holy Grave, of which Isaias says : " And His 
grave shall be glorious." A Schismatic Greek 
monk was standing at the Holy Grave, watching 
us closely. Some of us laid money on the Holy 
Sepulchre. Afterwards, the Franciscan Fathers 
in the "Casa Nuova" told us that we should not 
have done that, as the Greek monk took it all. 

We then repaired to the Chapel, where the 
Blessed Sacrament is kept and after Benediction 
with the Blessed Sacrament, we went to the Casa 
Nuova, the Franciscan Monastery, where our 
valises were handed us and our rooms shown to 
us. This was our home during our stay in 

8 



9 8 



JERUSALEM. 



Jerusalem, ^and these Fathers deserve all praise 
for their kind attention. 

We were in and around Jerusalem from 
Passion Sunday, April the 7th, until Easter 
Monday, April the 24th. 

HISTORY OF JERUSALEM. 

Jerusalem is holy for the Jews, who formerly 
had their temple here and who still venerate the 
stones, which remind them of it ; holy for the 
Christians because Our Lord here began and 
terminated the salvation of mankind ; precious 
to Mussulmen, who have built the Mosque of 
Omar, containing the stone on which, according 
to them, Jacob reposed when he saw the myste- 
rious ladder. 

Jerusalem, the ancient Salem (peace) was, it 
is believed, founded by Melchisedech, king and 
priest of Salem. (Genesis; chap, xiv, V. 18: 
"But Melchisedech, the king of Salem, bringing 
forth bread ana wine, for he was the priest of the 
Most High God.)" Towards the year 2023, fifty 
years after, Salem fell into the hands of the 
Jebuseens, decendants of Jebus, son of Chanaan. 
Jebus and Salem, Jebusalem, hence the name 
Jerusalem (vision of peace). The Jebuseens 



JERUSALEM. 99 

enjoyed the blessings of peace for about five- 
hundred years, until Israel was delivered from 
bondage (B. C. 2553). About this time, Josue 
conquered the promised land and almost exter- 
minated the inhabitants, killing thirty-one of 
their kings. Among these was Adonisedec, king 
of Jerusalem. By this victory, the Israelites 
entered Jerusalem and inhabited it, together with 
the Canaanites, but the city remained exclusively 
to the Jebuseens, until David made himself 
master thereof, during the eight years of his 
reign. He made it his residence and the capital 
of his kingdom. He placed the Ark of the 
Covenant there in 1047 B. C. David having 
sinned by taking a census of his people, God 
punished him. Ten tribes separated from Roboam, 
son and successor of Solomon. For three cen- 
turies the weakened kingdom of Jerusalem had 
to sustain the successive invasions of the 
Egyptians, Philistines and several Arabian 
nations. Under the reign of Sedecias, 399 years 
before the coming of Christ, and 413 years after 
Solomon had laid the foundation of the temple, 
Nabuchodonozor came and destroyed it, and led 
the people captive to Babylon ; 72 years later, 
Cyrus gave permission to rebuild the temple, 



IOO 



JERUSALEM. 



which was completed in the tenth year of the 
reign of Darius, 511 years B. C. After Palestine 
was conquered by the Romans, the celebrated 
temple of Jerusalem was burnt and the city 
destroyed by the Roman soldiers. It was rebuilt 
by Adrian, who named it " Elia Capitolina-" 
A. D. 326, St. Helena adorned the Holy Sepulchre 
and built a basilica there. Her son Constantine 
restored to the city its ancient name. In 614, 
Chosroes II. ravaged the city and destroyed the 
church of the Holy Sepulchre. In 637, it fell 
under the dominion of Omar, but he gave ample 
liberty to the Christians. He built a mosque 
which was given his name and which still bears 
it. 

At the beginning of the ninth century, Haroun- 
el-Raschid solemnly sent the keys of the church 
of the Holy Sepulchre to Charlemagne. In 1099 
the Crusaders took possession of Jerusalem, but 
before the lapse of a century the Holy City fell 
into the hands of Saladin, who made his solemn 
entry into Jerusalem in 1187, when 100,000 Chris- 
tians left it. In 1222 the Franciscans were 
established there. From that time until the days 
of Ibrahim, son of Mehemet All, the Christians 
at Jerusalem have been oppressed by the Mussul- 



JERUSALEM. IOI 

men. From the days of Solomon to the death of 
Christ, Jerusalem had within its walls three 
mountains. Under the reign of Claudius ( 10 
years after the death of Christ ) Herode Agrippa 
laid the foundation of a new boundary wall, 
enclosing Mount Bezetha and the mount now 
called the Christian quarter, designated by Jere- 
miah under the name of Garib. This wall began 
at the tower of Hippicos, situated to the west 
of the city, and reached to the tower of Sephinos, 
forming the north-eastern angle of the city ; 
thence it went eastward, joining the tower 
situated at the corner of the ro} T al caverns. 
(Considerable of this wall still exists together 
with a gate almost entirely buried beneath and 
which serves as the foundation for the gate to 
Damascus). Thence it continued, crossing the 
royal caverns tow r ards the Cedron and southward, 
joining the ancient walls of the city . So we now 
find Jerusalem seated on five mountains : Acra, 
(the tower town; ; Sion, ( height or elevated 
place) ; Moria, (chosen locality) ; Bezetha, (new 
town) ; and Gareb, (quarter towards the setting 
sun). 

Jerusalem, which in the time of Alexander the 
Great had about 150,000 inhabitants, has to-day 



102 JERUSALEM. 

hardly 38,000 ; of these there are about 3,000 
Catholics, 10,000 Jews, and the rest Musselmen, 
Greeks, Copts, Maronites, Armenians, etc.*) The 
difference in time between Jerusalem and New 
York is about 9 hours, the time of Jerusalem 
being that much earlier. 

SERVICES IN THE HOLY SEPULCHRE 
CHURCH. 

Six different nations, each with their own 
peculiar rite, officiate in the BasLica of the Holy 
Sepulchre : the Franciscans (Latins) ; schismatic 
Greeks ; schismatic Armenians ; Copts ; Abyssi- 
nians or Etheopians, and Syrians. The five last 
mentioned are not Catholics. The four first- 
named nations have their own particular chapels. 
As the gates or doors are usually closed and the 
Turks hold the keys, the religious within can not 
go out as they please, nor cummunicate with 
those outside, unless by means of a sort of 
grating in the door, through which they receive 
their food. 

The Franciscans have their residence or con- 
vent and chapel in the Basilica of the Holy 
Sepulchre, northward of the Holy Sepulchre. 

*) Brother Lievin de Hammt, Guide to the Holy Places, 



JERUSALEM. 103 

Those of us who said Mass on the Holy 
Sepulchre had to go into the church of the Hoi}' 
Sepulchre and sleep there in the convent of the 
Franciscans the night before. The Greeks have 
their chapel to the east of the tomb of Our 
Lord ; the Armenians, south, over a part of the 
gallery and the Copts are close to the Holy 
Sepulchre, and have two or three chambers to 
the west, which they ase as their dwellings. The 
Latins, Greeks, Armenians and Copts have each 
a respective right to burn lamps before the front 
and within the interior of the Sepulchre, at the 
anointing stone and before some pictures in the 
Basilica. On Calvary this privilege belongs 
exclusively to the Franciscans and Greeks. The 
Superiors of the Greek and Armenian monks 
alone have the right to exact from the Turks the 
public opening of the gates, of the Basilica of the 
Holy Sepulchre on their particular feasts, and 
whenever necessary, each time for a trifling 
remuneration of either money, coffee or wax 
lights, to be given to the Turks who are on guard 
during the time the church remains open. For 
this purpose the}' have a divan to the left of the 
entrance of the Basilica. The Franciscans can 
celebrate daily three Masses on the Holy Sepul- 



104 JERUSALEM. 

chre. The religious doing duty at the Holy 
Sepulchre, make daily a procession to the 
different sanctuaries enclosed within the Basilica. 

CALVARY AND THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 

Tradition teaches ns that the ancient Judea 
was inhabited by Adam, who took refuge there 
on being banished from the terrestrial paradise, 
and that likewise it was this land that received 
the mortal remains of the first man. His head 
was buried in a place called Cranion ( Calvary or 
site of the skull). For about 4000 years hell saw 
with delight the proofs of its victories, placed 
in Calvary; but in the .same place its standard 
was destroyed and its power lost forever. There 
the key of heaven showed itself, the tree of 
victory was raised, our slavery ended and our 
liberty was declared ; Jesus dying there, 
purchased for us life. Jesus was buried near 
Calvary in a new Sepulchre. The third day the 
Saviour came forth alive, thus conquering death. 
Christianity made rapid progress. Calvary and 
the Holy Sepulchre, whence the Son of God 
arose again, were in great veneration. Forty 
years later, Titus came to besiege the guilty city, 
stained with the murder of its God. Simon, 



JERUSALEM. 105 

called also the brother of Our Lord, was then 
bishop of Jerusalem ; when he saw that the days 
of persecution, foretold by Our Lord, had arrived, 
he fled with the Christians to Pilla, beyond the 
Jordan, to allow the anger of God to pass by, and 
returned after the departure of Titus, to take 
possession of the ruins of Jerusalem. Calvary 
and the tomb of Our Lord were again open to 
veneration. 

Fifty years later, Adrian, wishing to prevent 
the Christians from venerating these precious 
monuments of Christianity, buried the Holy 
Sepulchre beneath a mass of stones and rubbish, 
had the surface paved over, and erected thereon 
a temple in honor of Venus, and on Calvary he 
placed the idol of Jupiter. 206 } T ears later, the 
emperor Constantine had the temple destroyed 
and demolished the idol of Jupiter. He had the 
Holy Sepulchre magnificently adorned, paved 
the square around it with handsome stones and 
erected three galleries here. Near the tomb he 
built a Basilica, which, according to his orders, 
should surpass in splendor and magnificence all 
other edifices of the time. St. Macaire, then 
bishop of Jerusalem, took charge of the fulfill- 
ment of the royal wishes, and in 10 years the 



106 JERUSALEM. 

work was completed. The Basilica included 
within its walls Calvary, the Holy Sepulchre and 
the surrounding Sanctuaries. 

In the year 614, Chosroes II., king of Persia, 
conquered Heraclius, took possession of the 
Holy City, carried awa} r the True Cross, pillaged 
the city and destroyed the churches, among them 
that of the Holy Sepulchre, carrying w T ith him 
many Catholics into captivity. After the departure 
of the Persians, the Christians rebuilt their 
temples. The reconstruction of the Basilica of 
the Holy Sepulchre was undertaken by a monk, 
named Modestus, afterwards bishop of Jerusalem, 
and, with the aid of the patriarch of Alexandria, 
John the Almoner, it was completed in 1 5 years. 
Modestus could not, like Constantine, enclose 
within one building all the Holy Places, but 
erected upon each venerated spot a church or 
chapel, according to his means. 

Ten years later, Heraclius conquered the king 
of the Persians, delivered the captive Christians 
and obliged the successor of Chosroes to return 
the True Cross, and he carried the precious 
burden on his shoulders to Calvary, through the 
streets of Jerusalem, barefooted, and followed by 



JERUSALEM. 107 

his soldiers. This was the origin of the feast of 
the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. 

Shortly after, this precious relic was sent by 
the archbishop Sergius, to Constantinople. 
Eight years afterwards, the disciples of Mahomet 
conquered Heraclius, master oi Syria and Persia, 
and besieged Jerusalem. The patriarch Sophro- 
nius, at the head of the inhabitants, by a vigorous 
resistance obtained a capitulation. Omar came 
almost alone to Medina, with only the simple 
equipage of an Arab chief. He concluded a treaty 
before the gates of the Holy City, which guaran- 
teed to the Christians the possession of their 
churches and liberty of worship upon paying a 
certain tribute ; this was about the year 636. 

From this time until the beginning of the 
eleventh century, the Church of Jerusalem had 
divers alternatives of peace and persecution. The 
happiest reign was that of Haroun-el-Raschid, 
786-807. The Christians, under this caliph had 
some years of tranquillity. The emperor of the 
West sent abundant alms to the Holy Land to 
repair the churches, and founded a convent, which 
for many years gave protection and hospitality to 
pilgrims of the Latin churches. Twice, during 
the tenth century, the Mussulmen set fire to the 
church of the Holy Sepulchre. But the churches 



108 JERUSALEM. 

were restored about the same year they were 
destroyed. " Then," says Raoul Glaber, •'came 
from all parts an immense crowd of pilgrims, 
bringing money for the restoration of the temples 
of the Lord." 

In 1099, the crusaders seized the Holy City* 
and the first care of Godfrey was, to place at the 
Holy Sepulchre 20 canons, to whom he gave 
considerable possessions. Some years later, the 
crusaders began to work and re-united in one 
monument all the isolated sanctuaries, which had 
been separated since the destruction of the 
Basilica of Constantine. Since 1244 the Fran- 
ciscans, who sing night and day the divine office, 
replaced the number of canons. 

In 1808, a fire originated in the church of the 
Holy Sepulchre, destroying principally the grand 
dome which covered the Holy Tomb, and which 
.had been erected by the Franciscans in 1555 ; the 
dohie and marble columns were replaced after 
the fire by ignoble and rude masonry, under the 
direction of the Greeks, who, by vast expenditure, 
obtained this power. 

Now, there are some who dispute the locality 
of Calvary by saying : u Jerusalem was destroyed 
and Christ was crucified outside the city, and 



JERUSALEM. 109 

to-day Mount Calvary and the Holy Sepulchre 
are in the city walls." It is true, Jerusalem and 
the Holy Places were destroyed and also the 
Christians banished, as stated above, but there 
were always some Christians living in and near 
Jerusalem, and the banished returned after some 
years, and how is it possible that they could or 
did loose sight of those Holy Places that were so 
dear and precious to all. The disciples of Christ 
and the holy women at Jerusalem, and especially 
His sorrowful Mother, certainly looked for those 
holy spots and visited them frequently, where 
their Divine Master was crucified and buried. 
They were also very important to the apostles, 
because they should and did preach the crucifixion 
of Christ everywhere. Furthermore, the city 
was never completely destroyed, as there were 
always some towers and ruins of the old walls 
remaining, by which the apostles were guided. 
It is also said, that the second wall, which at the 
time of Christ cut off the city towards the north, 
and not the east but the west of the present 
Holy Sepulchre church and thus want to prove 
that the ground, where now stands this Basilica, 
was inside the city, whilst according to the 
apostles, it was outside the city. No one to-day 



IIO JERUSALEM. 

can maintain with accuracy, which course this 
second wall took. Finally, it is said, that Christ 
was crucified on a mountain, and that that, which 
is pointed out to-day, is no mountain, not even 
much of a hill. To this I answer : " None of the 
four Evangelists who speak about Calvary, call 
it a mountain. I here leave one after the other 
of them come and speak for themselves. (St,. 
Matth. chap, xxvii, V. 33 : "And they came to 
the place that is called Golgatha, which is the 
place of Calvary." St. Mark, chap, xv, V. 22 : 
" And they bring Him into the place called 
Golgatha, which being interpreted, is, the place 
of Calvary." St. Luke, chap, xxiii, V. 33 : "And 
when they were come to the place which is called 
Calvary, they crucified Him there ; and the 
robbers, one on the right hand, and the other on 
the left." St. John, chap, xix, V. 17: "And 
bearing His own cross, He went forth to that 
place which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew^. 
Golgatha.") 

DESCRIPTION OF THE INTERIOR OF 
HOLY SEPULCHRE CHURCH. 

During our stay at Jerusalem, a Franciscan 
priest and Bro. Bernardin who had met us at 



JERUSALEM. Ill 

Jafia, showed us the church of the Holy Sepulchre, 
We entered the Basilica at the principal entrance, 
on the south side. The first sanctuary we met 
was the stone of unction, which is about 15 feet 
from the entrance and raised about 6 inches from 
the ground. It measures about 8 feet in length, 
4 feet in width, and 5 inches thick, around which 
are continually burning 8 lamps. It is a red 
stone of the country. Joseph of Arimathea and 
Nicodemus, after having taken the body of Our 
Lord down from Mount Calvary, placed it here 
on a stone in order to anoint the body of Christ 
before burying it, according to the Jewish custom. 
This sanctuary is venerated alike by Latins, 
Greeks, Armenians and Copts, who all burn 
lamps and wax candles here. About 30 feet to 
the west of this stone of unction we saw a round 
iron cage which indicates the spot where the 
holy women stood, w T hilst Joseph of Arimathea 
and Nicodemus anointed the bod}' of Our Lord. 
About 30 feet hence, in the centre of a rotunda, 
we see the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre. 

This chapel, built over the grave of Our 
Lord, is 26 feet long, 36 feet high, including the 
dome, and 18 feet in width. It is built of polished 
native yellow 7 stone, the front of w r hich is orna- 



112 JERUSALEM. 

mented with carved marble and lime-stone 
columns and numerous silver and brass lamps, 
wax candles and pictures. In this chapel 15 
lamps burn continually ; the 5 middle ones 
belonging to the Franciscans ; the 5 to the right, 
to the Schismatic Greeks ; the 4 to the left, to 
the Armenians and the 1 to the Copts. 

On the front of the outside of this chapel 43 
lamps burn continually: the 13 in the centre 
belong to the Franciscans; the Greeks have 4 to 
the right and 4 to the left, and five between those 
of the Franciscans and the Armenians, who have 
13 between the 4 on the left side belonging to 
the Greeks and 5 of theirs near the Franciscans ; 
the Copts have only 4, placed between those of 
the Greeks on the right side and the Franciscans. 

On each side of this chapel is a small aperture, 
through which, on Holy Saturday the Holy Fire 
is dealt out to the pilgrims by the Greek patri- 
archs within. Of this ceremony I will speak 
later. The chapel is divided into two compart- 
ments ; the front chamber is the " Chapel of the 
Angel/' the compartment where the angel sat on 
the stone which he rolled away from the door of 
the sepulchre. In the center of this apartment 
is a part of the stone ; the other part has been 



JERUSALEM. 113 

placed by the Schismatic Armenians in the 
Convent of Caiphas, outside of the Zion gate. 
We pilgrims saw it when visiting that convent. 
In the second chamber, which is reached by a 
low, narrow doorway, about four feet high and 
two feet wide, is the tomb of Christ, which is to 
our right, occupying the whole length and nearly 
half the width of the apartment. It is raised 
aibout three feet from the floor and is covered by 
at slap, of marble about eight feet long and two 
feet wide, the surface and edges of which have 
been worn off by kisses and embraces of the pil- 
grims who for centuries have gathered here from 
all parts of the world. In this Holy Sepulchre 
every priest of our pilgrimage, including myself, 
said Mass. 

The north side (in the interior) of the Holy 
Sepulchre is separated by three divisions, which 
are adorned by the denomination to which they 
belong. The middle division, which is decorated 
by a bas-relief, carved in white marble and re- 
sembling the resurrection, belongs to the Schis- 
matic Greeks ;: the one to the right has a painting 
on the same subject, which belongs to the Armen- 
ians (not Catholic), and the one to the left has a 
similar painting and representation, which belongs 

9 



114 JERUSALEM. 

to the Franciscans. The entrance to the Greek 
chapel is on the outside of the Holy Sepulchre, 
about twenty-five feet to the east; it is richly 
adorned and profusely gilded. This chapel may 
be called the nave of the Basilica, but is now sep- 
arated from the aisles by high walls, said to have 
been built by the Greeks. It is quadrangular in 
shape, and in size forty by seventy feet. At the 
eastern end is the High Altar, reached by four 
steps and divided by a richly-gilt screen. To the 
right is the throne of the Greek patriarch. In 
the center a small globe indicates the center of 
the earth. The Greeks have no organs in their 
churches, but instead, several metallic shells 
which they beat together. To the west of this 
Greek chapel, in the rear and adjoining the Holy 
Sepulchre, is the chapel of the Copts. West of 
the entrance to the chapel is a chapel, belonging 
to the Syrians (Jacobites). 

From here we enter the sepulchral vault of 
Joseph of Arimathea; here we see four funeral 
sites, two of which are closed and the other two 
are unfinished. Tradition tells us that this holy 
man, after having buried our Lord upon his own 
burial-place, wished that he and his family might 
repose near thereto (which is possible as this was 



JERUSALEM. 1 15 

his property), and so he had this vault built for 
himself and his family. About thirty feet north of 
the Holy Sepulchre is the Chapel of St. Mary 
Magdalena, where our Lord appeared to her 
under the form of a gardener. A figure in the 
circular marble pavement designates the holy 
place. Near by and to the north of the Chapel 
of St. Mary Magdalena, we ascend by four steps 
to the church of the Franciscans, where they 
recite the Divine Office da}' and night. Accord- 
ing to tradition, the Blessed Virgin never left the 
Holy Sepulchre from the time her Divine Son 
had been placed therein, but she stood at some 
distance on account of the soldiers that guarded 
it. The risen Saviour showed Himself to her in 
this place, called on that account Chapel of the 
Apparition. This chapel contains three altars. 
The Blessed Sacrament is kept on the High 
Altar. The altar to the right. is called Altar of 
Relics (on this altar I celebrated Mass on Easter 
Sunday), so named because a piece of the true 
cross was venerated here until the year 1557, 
when the Franciscans were imprisoned by Soli- 
man and the Armenians, who seized this precious 
relic and sent it to Armenia. The altar to the left, 
which is the first upon entering, contains a por- 



Il6 JERUSALEM. 

tioti of the pillar whereon our Lord was scourged; 
it is of porphyry and about three feet high. Once 
a year, on Wednesday of Holy Week, the railed 
door is opened and the people allowed to see, 
venerate and kiss the pillar. We pilgrims had 
this happiness on Wednesday of the Holy Week 
during our stay in Jerusalem. 

Upon leaving the Chapel of the Apparition, 
we w T ent to our left into the sacristy of the Fran- 
ciscans or Latins, where are preserved the spurs 
and sw r ord of Godfrey de Bouillon. As to the 
authenticity of this, the Franciscans received 
them as such from the bishop of Nazareth about 
the close of the thirteenth century. The spurs 
are made of copper, with immensely large wheels; 
the sword is straight and plain at the hilt. In this 
sacristy we of course vested when we said Mass 
in Holy Sepulchre Church. From this chapel 
we went to the left, toward the north, where is a 
dark chapel, belonging to the Schismatic Greeks, 
built, according to tradition, over the spot which 
was formerly a grotto, w r here our Lord and the 
thieves were imprisoned, w T hilst preparations for 
the execution were being made. This chapel 
contains three compartments, designating the 
cell of each prisoner. As we went on about 



JERUSALEM. 117 

thirty feet in a south-western direction, we came 
to a chapel also belonging to the Greeks, which 
is dedicated to Longinus, who, according to tradi- 
tion, was the soldier who pierced the side of our 
Lord with a spear and, impressed by the prodi- 
gies he witnessed, that he confessed the Divinity 
of Christ and here bewailed his faults. (Gospel 
of St. John, chap, xix, v. 34. "But one of the 
soldiers with a spear opened His side and im- 
mediately there came out blood and water.") 
When Longinus made the wound, which opened 
the sacred side of Our Lord, the blood and water 
flowed down the handle of his spear, moistening 
the sacrilegious hand. Longinus was blind on 
one eye and miracuously recovered his sight by 
touching the eye with this hand. In this chapel 
was formerly venerated the inscription, placed 
over the cross ; this precious relic is now at 
Rome. (Gospel of St. John, chap, xix, v. 19: 
"And Pilate giving a title, also put it upon the 
cross; and the writing was: 'Jesus of Nazareth, 
the King of the Jews.' ") 

On the same side about ten feet further on is 
the Armenian Chapel, built on the spot where 
the executioners divided Our Lord's clothing. 
(Gospel of St. John, chap, xix, v. 23. il The 



Il8 JERUSALEM. 

soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Him, 
took His garments and also His coat. Now the 
coat was without seam, woven from the top 
throughout.") 

About ten feet further on, in the same direc- 
tion, is a staircase of twenty-nine steps by which 
we descend to the 

CHAPEE OF ST. HELENA. 

Here St. Helena sat while search was being 
made for the cross. From this chapel we descend 
a flight of thirteen steps into the Chapel of the 
Finding of the Cross, which belongs to the Fran- 
ciscans. The Saviour being buried, all instm- 
ments used for the execution were, according to 
Jewish custom, buried. They were cast into an 
abandoned cistern, which was near the site of the 
crucifixion, and rubbish thrown over them. In 
the course of time, all kinds of offalls where 
thrown there so' as to fill up the space. 

In the year 326 St. Helena, after having de- 
stroyed the temples dedicated to idols, gave 
Calvary and the Holy Sepulchre to the vener- 
ation of the Christian world. 



JERUSALEM. 



II 9 



CHAPEL OF THE FINDING OF THE 
CROSS. 

St. Helena consulted Bishop St. Macarius and 
the ancients of the city as to where she might find 
the august instrument of redemption. They 
pointed out the place to her, which she had care- 
fully examined, and all the instruments of execu- 
tion were found there as well as the crosses of 
the thieves ; but no proofs were at hand to iden- 
tify the cross which had borne the Saviour of 
mankind. The holy bishop therefore ordered 
public prayers to God, that He would deign to 
make it known. Then the bishop, accompanied 
by St. Helena, went to the house of a sick woman, 
known by mostly all the inhabitants to be in 
agony. After a short prayer, the holy bishop 
touched her with the three crosses ; at the touch 
of the last cross, the woman w 7 as instantaneously 
cured. On the same day St. Macarius met a 
funeral procession going to the cemetery; he 
stopped those who carried the bier and touched 
the corpse with the crosses of the tnieves without 
result, but, upon touching the remains with the 
true cross, the dead person was suddenly restored 
to life. 



120 JERUSALEM. 

In order to continue the excursion, we re- 
ascended the two staircases. Arriving on the 
nave we immediately saw a Greek chapel, in the 
center of which is an iron cage containing the 
pillar of opprobrium ; a grayish granite pillar, 
which, according to tradition, served as a seat 
for Our Lord when crowned with thorns, abused 
and loaded with insult. It was brought from the 
praetorium of Pilate. (Gospel of St. Matth., 
chap, xxvii, v. 29 : "And platting a crown of 
thorns, they put it upon his head.") 

About thirty feet to the west, we passed by the 
staircase which leads by eighteen steps to Cal- 
vary. A door to the west below, leads into the 

CHAPEL OF ADAM. 

Upon entering, we saw to the right a stone slab 
which replaces the tomb of Godfrey de Bouillon, 
who conquered Jerusalem in the year 1099. At 
the extremity of the chapel of Adam, we see a 
small excavation, where, according to tradition, 
reposed the skull of the first man. Here to-day 
we can see the rent on the rock of Calvary. As- 
cending a flight of eighteen steps outside of the 
Chapel of Adam and the chamber of Godfrey, 
the low-vaulted chapel of Golgatha is entered- 



JERUSALEM. 



121 



CALVARY. 

At the east end is a platform about ten feet 
long, seven feet wide and twenty inches high. In 
the center is the Crucifixion Altar, belonging to 
the Schismatic Greeks ; under the mensa or table, 
lying on the floor, is a marble slab with a hole in 
which our Saviour's cross was placed; to the left 
and right are seen the holes in which the crosses of 
the two thieves stood. In the marble pavement 
on the platform is another opening, through 
which is seen a rent in the rock, which is contin- 
uous with the one below in the Chapel of Adam. 
South of the altar, to the right is another division, 
called the Chapel of the Crucifixion. It was here 
that Christ was nailed to ,the cross. This part 
does not stand on the rock, but forms a kind of 
upper story, which is accounted for by the fact 
that St. Helena removed the ground beneath it 
and took it to Rome. On this altar I said Mass. 
Aside of this altar is another, indicating the spot 
where the Blessed Virgin Mar)' and St. John 
stood, watching the crucifixion. On Palm Sun- 
day I said Mass on this altar. 

On Wednesday in Holy Week, the pilgrims 
sang along in the Tenebrae, which was sung before 



122 JERUSALEM. 

the Holy Sepulchre. The Franciscan Fathers 
sang splendid and very impressive indeed ; espe- 
cially touching were the last words of each lamen- 
tation : " Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convert to the 
Lord, thy God ! " While the Tenebrae was being 
sung, the master of ceremonies asked me to sing 
the VII. Lesson, which I did with great pleasure. 

THE WAY OF THE CROSS AND PALM 
SUNDAY. 

On Good Friday the pilgrims went the Way 
of the Cross, Via Dolorosa, which is in the streets 
of Jerusalem. At the buildings are marked the 
fourteen memorable events of our redemption. 
As many hundreds of people had joined us, the 
streets were totally blocked. At each station one 
of the Franciscan Fathers gave a little explana- 
tion or sermon. The last five stations are within 
the Holy Sepulchre Church. 

On the evening of Holy Thursday we went 
the Way of the Cross inside the Holy Sepulchre 
Church, during which time eight sermons were 
held, each in a different language* Monsignor 
Setonpreached the English sermon, which w T as 
very eloquent and impressive, while the sermon 
onMount Calvary was held in German. 



JERUSALEM. 123 

The ceremony was especially touching on 
Calvary. On the spot where the crucifixion tcok 
place a subdeacon held a cross, on which was 
fixed a corpus. At the XIII. station, where 
Christ is taken from the cross, a deacon took a 
pair of tongs, with which he extracted the nails 
from the hands, after which the arms hung down 
naturally; after loosening the feet he took the 
corpus down, laid it in a fine linen cloth, carried 
down from Calvary by four subdeacons, wearing 
very precious black dalmatics, and coming to the 
stone of unction they laid the corpus thereon. 
Then the Franciscan Guardian enbalmed it, as 
the body of Christ was embalmed according to 
the Jewish custom, and carried it into the Holy 
Sepulchre Chapel to represent burial. I never 
before saw such a touching and beautiful cere- 
mony. The whole service lasted three hours. 
The church was crowded, there being about 
twenty thousand strangers in Jerusalem during 
Holy Week. 

On Palm Sunday, at eight o'clock in the 
morning, the pilgrims went into Holy Sepulchre 
Church with the Latin patriarch, Monsignor 
Vincenzo Bracco (with whom we also had aud- 
ience), who now blessed the palms before the 



124 JERUSALEM. 

Holy Sepulchre. Each of us pilgrims received 
one from him, after which we marched in pro- 
cession around the Holy Sepulchre, through two 
rows of armed soldiers, who stood on guard. On 
the afternoon of Holy Thursday the Latin patri- 
arch washed the feet of eight priests and four lay 
men. Of the priests of our pilgrimage who had 
this honor were Revs. J. M. Nardiello, J. C. 
Dunn and M. E. Kane. 

THE GREEK FIRE ON HOLY SATURDAY. 

On Holy Saturday we witnessed an interest- 
ing ceremony, called "the Greek Fire", performed 
in the Holy Sepulchre Church by the Schismatic 
Greeks. From Wednesday on in Holy Week, 
many hundreds of Schismatic Greeks rented a 
small space in the church, which they could oc- 
cupy day and night (as they here slept on the 
floor every night) until Holy Saturday, when 
shortly before 12 o'clock noon, the patriarch of 
the Schismatic Greeks went into the ctiapel of 
the Holy Sepulchre. At 12 o'clock the signal 
was given by the large bell, whereupon the patri- 
arch handed fire through one of the small aper- 
tures or windows of the chapel. They say and 
believe that this fire comes from heaven. Each 



JERUSALEM. 125 

one of the twenty or thirty thousand people who 
were within the Basilica, had a bundle of wax 
candles. Each person endeavored to get fire first 
from the patriarch, and as soon as received, ran 
through the crowd as speedy as possible. Others 
again tried to get fire from these and in the great 
confusion, would set fire to their clothes and even 
to their beards, thus causing the greatest excite- 
ment and confusion ever seen, despite the 800 
soldiers who were present to maintain order. We 
saw many being knocked down and trampled up- 
on by others, who were in haste of getting to 
their homes in Bethlehem, Jericho and Jaffa. 
After they got out of the crowd they put the fires 
in their lanterns. The fire was even taken on 
the steamer, sailing from Jaffa to Russia. They 
believe that if they reach their home with the fire 
they will surely go to heaven. 

THE CCENACULUM. 

The Ccenaculum is on Mount Sion, within the 
city walls. It was in the Ccenaculum where Our 
Divine Saviour instituted the Blessed Sacrament. 
St. Euke, chap, xxii, v. 14: "And when the hour 
was come, He sat down and the twelve apostles 
with Him " V. 19 : "And taking bread, He 



126 JERUSALEM. 

gave thanks and broke and gave to them, saying : 
'This is my body which is given to you ; do this 
for a commemoration of me.' " Here Our Divine 
Saviour washed the feet of His apostles, promised 
them the Holy Ghost and foretold the treason 
and the denial of St. Peter. Here Jesus appeared 
twice to His disciples ; first, on the day of His re- 
surrection, and again eight days later when He 
made St. Thomas touch with his finger His sa- 
cred wounds. Here the Holy Ghost descended 
upon the apostles and the Sacrament of Confir- 
mation was instituted. Here St. Paula venerated 
the pillar at which Our Lord had been scourged, 
and which, as she said, was still stained by this 
precious blood. According to St. Ephiphanius, 
the Ccenaculum was not destroyed by Titus. He 
tells us in his "Book of Mensurus", cited by Ana- 
resmius, that Adrian, coming from Egypt, found 
Jerusalem destroyed to the ground, except some 
few houses near the Coenaculum, then converted 
into a church. 

In the beginning of the fourteenth century, 
St. Helena built a beautiful church over the Cce- 
naculum. Although it has often been destrc^ed 
and rebuilt, it always consisted, as now, of two 
stories. The first story was for a long period 



JERUSALEM. 127 

the harem or dwelling of the wives of Mussulmen 
of the province of Nabi Daoud. 

In 1244, Sultan Salahad, a friend to St. Fran- 
cis de Assissi gave the Franciscans a hospital, sit- 
uated near the Ccenaculum. Some time after, 
the sultan of Egypt declared war against his un- 
cle and conquered him, whereafter all the Christ- 
ians were banished. After a persecution of short 
duration the Franciscans reestablished themselves 
on Mount Sion. At the request of F. Ruggers 
Guarini, Robert of Anjou, king of Sicily, and San- 
cha, his wife, purchased the Ccenaculum from the 
sultan and gave it to the Holy See, upon the con- 
dition that the Franciscans should be the perpe- 
tual guardians thereof. This was granted in a 
bull of Pope Clement VI., beginning thus :"Nuper 
carissimi in Christo" given at Avignon, No- 
vember 21, 1342. And another begins: Gratias 
agaomnium bonorum largiri etc." It was then 
that the Franciscans built the church which now 
exists. It is small, and constructed of material, ta- 
ken from the churches which preceded it, as can 
principally be seen on the pillars, supporting the 
ceiling and the arch ; one is of granite ; the other 
a stone of the country. The smaller pillars are 
also of various sizes and different kinds of stone. 



128 



JERUSALEM, 



In 1335, a rich lady named Sophis, of Florence, 
wishing to provide for the wants of the sick and 
the pilgrims, bought the ground surrounding 
the convent and built the great establishment, 
placed by Innocent IV. under the care of the 
Franciscan Fathers, who exercised hospitality 
here for two centuries, notwithstanding the con- 
tinual vexations from the Turks and the incur- 
sions of the Arabs, which cost the lives of over 
two-hundred religious. The Mussulmen ceased 
not to seek ever} T possible means of expelling 
the Christians from this place, especially since 
the time that the rumor was spread, that the 
tomb of David was within one of the ground 
floor habitations. They pretended to honor 
according to their own fashion the sepulchre of 
the king-prophet, and managed to usurp the 
guardianship thereof in 1555. Once within the 
ground they made rapid progress. In 1550, 
almost all the Franciscans were massacred and 
the church converted into a mosque named "Na- 
bi Daoud (Prophet David)". It is a mosque to 
this day and still bears the same name. 

As for the tomb of David, Scripture says : 
"David was buried on Mount Sion. There exists 
great doubt that it was on this spot. . The Mus- 



JERUSALEM. 120. 

sulmen show a block of masonry, very modern in 
its details, covered with a green table cover. If 
anyone tells them that this cannot be the real 
tomb, they reply that the true tomb of David is 
in a vault beneath the mausoleum, where, out of 
respect, no man can enter. 

As w r e pilgrims came out of the Ccenaculum, 
Mr. John Manning one of our pilgrims was about 
to take our photographs in a group, but as soon 
as the Mussulmen saw that, they chased him away 
and followed us for quite a while, scolding the 
whole time. 

TOMB OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

The pilgrims also visited this holy tomb. A 
flight of 48 steps leads to the Church of the 
Assumption. Having reached the twenty-first 
step on the right hand at the main wall of the 
building, a small chapel with two altars, touching 
each other, is seen. According to tradition, the 
first on the left side, or to the north upon enter- 
ing, is over the tomb of St. Joachim and the 
other opposite, over that of St. Anna. At the 
foot of the steps we see to the west a cistern and 
near by, an altar belonging to the Schismatic 
Copts. 

Near by at the foot of Mt. Sion is the 

10 



130 JERUSALEM. 

GROTTO OF THE AGONY. 



To this grotto, where our Divine Lord, on the 
eve of His passion, perspired blood, the pil- 
grims went next. St. Luke, chap, xxii, v. 39 ; 
"And going out He went according to his custom 
to the mount of Olives ; and His disciples also 
followed Him " V. 44 : "And His sweat be- 
came as drops of blood, trickling down upon the 
ground." We decend therein by a flight of six 
steps. 

It is a natural grotto or cave, lighted by an 
opening through the top. It contains three altars 
The exact spot of the agony is shown under the 
main altar and below on the floor is a tin star on 
which the following words can be read: "Hie 
Jesus sanguinem sudavit." I said mass in this 
grotto. 

Since 1392, the Franciscan Fathers of the 
Holy Land say three masses here daily. Near 
this grotto is the place, which was shown to us, 
where the apostles slept whilst Christ was praying 
in the grotto. Right aside of this grotto is the 
Garden of Gethsemane in which the Franciscan 
Fathers have many beautiful flowers of which 
each one of us received some. In this garden 



JERUSALEM. 131 

are also some very old and large olive trees. If 
these are not the same trees, they nevertheless 
sprung from the roots of those trees, which 
shaded many times the Man-God and were wit- 
nesses of His sighs and the flames of love issuing 
from His over-adorable heart and ascending to 
His Eternal Father. 

MOUNT OLIVES. 

This mountain lies east of Jerusalem. At 
present there are still many olive trees along this 
mount. Three roads lead to this celebrated 
mountain, so often mentioned in both the old 
and new testament. The first road commences 
at the gate at the Garden of Gethsemane and 
passes around the so-called ''Tomb of the 
Prophets." The other roads begin at the north- 
east angle of said garden. The one ascending 
the steepest side passes by the spot where Jesus 
wept over the ungrateful city. Here I read to 
our pilgrims the gospel, which speaks of Christ, 
weeping over Jerusalem. Near by, we see a rock 
where according to ancient tradition, St. Thomas, 
being on his way to visit the grave of the Blessed 
Virgin, saw her ascending to heaven, she letting 
her girdle fall to him on this same rock. The 



132 JERUSALEM. 

Greeks especially have a great veneration for this 
rock. 

On the summit of Mount Olives we saw the 
spot from where Christ ascended into heaven. 

THE VALLEY OF JOSEPHAT. 

At the base of Mount Olives and to the west 
is the Valley of Josephat, where, according to 
the prophet Joel (chap. iii. "The Lord shall judge 

all nations in the valley of Josephat ") the 

final judgment will take place. 

The valley of Josephat, furrowed by the tor- 
rent Cedron, has a width of about 400 feet. It 
begins adjacent to the tomb of the judges, north- 
west of Jerusalem being narrower below Gethse- 
maue, where it joins the Valley of the sons of 
Hennon, southeast. Here it is only as broad as 
the Cedron and is called valley of fire (on a di 
en Nar). Its length is about three Kilometers 
(3000 feet). 

THE MOSQUE OF OMAR. 

This mosque, which the pilgrims also visited, 
is considered by the Mussulmen one of their 
principal sanctuaries. It is also called Koublet- 
es-Sakhrah, (cupola of the rock). It has an 



JKRUSAtKM. 133 

octagonal front, each division being encased in 
marble and . squares of porcelain, coarsely var- 
nished. Sixty feet from the front are seven 
windows of colored glass. The mosque is 
crowned by a cupola, covered with copper and 
surmounted by a large crescent. Towards each 
of the cardinal points is a door. The door through 
which we entered is styled fc< Gate of David." 

Formerly, the Christians who dared to pass 
only the surrounding wall, were punished with 
death. Since the last w T ar in the East, the 
- mosque has become accessible to Europeans, 
having a permit from their respecive consuls, 
from the governor of Jerusalem. Nevertheless, 
it is closed to visitors during the days of the 
great Mussulman Lent, called Ramadan, and on 
all Fridays in the year. 

B-efore entering, each person must pay a fee 
of five francs ( about one dollar ) and put on a 
pair of slippers. 

The interior is dark, two concentrical octa- 
gonal divisions surrounding the central part. 
The first is formed by the exterior wall and the 
second by eight pillars and sixteen columns of 
beautiful marble, the base of which is one piece. 
All upper parts of the mosque are covered by 



134 JERUSALEM. 

mosaics and rich gilding, interspersed with text 
from the Koran, in gilt letters. The central 
part is enclosed by four pillars and two columns 
of the same design as the foregoing. A hand- 
some iron railing fills up the spaces between 
the columns. Besides this railing, we find 
another, artistically carved in wood, which sur- 
rounds the Sakhrah or Rock, which on this side is 
thirty feet wide, contrasting singularly with the 
rich ornamentation of the mosque. The sur- 
face of the Sakhrah is devoid of ornaments. 
Uneven, and a round hole having been bored 
into it perpendicularly, it is flat on the north and 
west sides. About five feet above it is sus- 
pended a Klemeh (kind of tent) made of red and 
green silk, which is to remind the believers of 
Mohammed of the tent given by God to Adam, 
who, having sought Eve for 100 years, found her 
on a mountain near Mecca. 

This Sakhrah or Rock is venerable to both 
Christians and Je.ws, and to the Mussulmen it is 
actually as precious as was Ornam, which David 
purchased from the Jebuseens. It was honored 
by the fire from heaven which descended to con- 
sume the sacrifice offered by the king-prophet to 
the Iyord; it was covered by the celebrated Tern- 



JERUSALEM. 135 

pie of Solomon. The Ark of the Covenant was 
placed on this rock and this place was called 
Holy of Holies. The high-priest only had access 
to it, and that only once a year. 

The Temple of Solomon was destroyed by 
Nabuchodonosor, and the Holy of Holies re- 
mained buried beneath its ruins. When the 
Jews returned from captivity Zerobabel rebuilt 
it, but the Holy of Holies remained empty, for, 
before the destruction of the temple, the Prophet 
Jeremiah had saved the Tabernacle, the Ark of 
the Covenant and the Altar of Incensing. Titus 
destroyed this temple and Adrian built one in its 
stead in honor of Jupiter. 

Omar covered the rock with a mosque. The 
crusaders substituted the cross for the crescent, 
but when Saladin took the Holy City this emblem 
of our faith was definitely overthrown, the rock 
was washed with rose-water and the place became 
again a Mohammedan sanctuary. 

At the western extremity of the rock we see 
what looks like an impression from a hand ; this 
is attributed to the Archangel Gabriel. With 
this is connected a legend. Mohammed, being 
mounted on El-Borak, the white horse, which was 
a present from the archangel, set out for heaven 



136 JERUSALEM. 

to arrange their important affairs ; but the rock 
(or Sakhrah) arose so as to follow the prophet. 
God, not wishing to deprive the world of this 
rock, sent the Archangel Gabriel who with his 
hand restrained the movements, leaving the im- 
pression of his hand thereon. To the south- 
west angle of the Sakhrah is a sort of a cage, made 
of iron, in which there is a piece of marble. We 
are allowed to pass our hand through a small 
opening and touch the print of Mohammed's 
foot, which he left on this marble. 

At the southern door of the mosque a copy of 
the Koran is shown, said to have belonged to the 
Caliph Omar. 

PLACE WHERE THE JEWS GO TO WEEP. 

On Mount Sion, near the Mosque of Omar, is 
an old wall, said to be a remnant of the old tem- 
ple of the Jews. To this wall the Jews — men, 
women and children — go every Friday afternoon 
to sigh, lament, pray and weep over the destruc- 
tion of their renowned temple. We went to see 
them weep on a Friday. It is a touching and 
pitiful sight. The following are the two principal 
prayers which they recite or sing in choir: 



JERUSALEM. 137 

Rabbi — On account of the palace which is de- 
vastated, 

People — We sit solitary whilst we weep. 
R. — On account of our walls which are cast 
down, 

P. — We sit solitary whilst we weep. 
R. — On account of our glory which we passed, 
P. — We sit solitary whilst we weep. 
R. — On account of our great men, now no 
more, 

P. — We sit solitary whilst we weep. 

R. — On account of our precious stones which 
are buried. 

P. — We sit solitary whilst we weep. 

R. — On account of our priests who have 
stumbled, 

P. — We sit solitary whilst we weep. 

R. — On account of our kings who have 
despised them, 

P. — We sit solitary whilst we weep. 



Rabbi — We beseech Thee to have pity on 
Sion, 

People — Reassemble the children of Jerusa- 
lem. 



138 JERUSALEM. 

R. — Hasten, hasten, O Saviour of Sion, 
P. — Speak in favor of Jerusalem. 
R. — That beauty and majesty may surround 
Sion, 

P. — Turn with clemency towards Jerusalem. 

R. — That the [royal power may soon be re- 
established in Sion, 

P. — Comfort these who weep over Jerusalem. 

R. — That peace and happiness may enter 
Sion, 

P. — And the rod of Thy power be raised over 
Jerusalem. 

Here we can principally see the verification 
of the words of the Prophet Jeremiah, saying to 
this stubborn people : '* Why weep you because 
ye are beaten with rods? Your sorrow is incur- 
able. On account of the multitude of your sins 
I have treated }^ou thus." It is truly a sad spec- 
tacle to. see these people dispersed and wandering 
all over the world, come to Jerusalem, there to 
live and die, when it was their forefathers who 
were guilty of the fearful crime of killing their 
God, and who uttered this prophetic cry : "Let 
His blood be upon us ! " This unhappy nation is 
a terrible and permanent proof of the oracles, 
pronounced by the prophets and evangelists. So 



JERUSALEM TO JERICHO. 1 39 

is it heartrending to see them weep in that land 
where they crucified Him who came to deliver 
them. 

Formerly this nation wept and prayed on the 
site of their ancient temple, but since the Mosque 
of Omar was built they are forced to be satisfied 
with being allowed to do so within an enclosure 
on a flagged spot and that at a distance. At sun- 
set they all leave the place. Thus they have 
wept since the coming of Christ, and thus they 
will weep every Friday as long as this world will 
exist. The Messiah has come, and as man He 
will come no more. They expect the Messiah to 
come to-day or to-morrow and rebuild their 
temple. 

TRIP FROM JERUSALEM TO 
JERICHO. 

During our sojourn in the Holy City, the sec- 
ond and third sections of our pilgrims made 
a trip on horse-back to Jericho, the first section 
going to Bethlehem in the meantime. We could 
not be at Jericho at one time, as the accomoda- 
tion there for so many was very poor. After our 
return, we, the second and third section, went 



140 JERUSALEM TO JERICHO. 

to Bethlehem and the other section to Jericho. 
When we told them of the horrible and danger- 
ous road and of the hard times we had had, many 
"of them did not go. 

Early in the morning of the 10th of April we 
went to the Jaffa Gate, where our guides awaited 
us with Arabian horses, ready to mount. These 
horses are of medium size and very hardy. They 
run for miles in that hot country, in the greatest 
heat, without getting one wet hair. If the sad- 
les were as good as the horses, riding would be 
easier. On horse-back is the only means of 
going to Jericho, as the path, or road, if we can 
call it such, is at some places very narrow, rough 
and stony, and the entire length of it twists 
around in the mountain ravines, that at times 
one can hardly see the road for more than a dis- 
tance of. twenty or thirty steps ahead. On each 
side are high, rocky mountains which makes 
travel by vehicles impossible. Along these fear- 
ful ravines we met, time and again, fierce-look- 
ing and well armed Bedouins, so that we were 
involuntarily reminded of the gospel which reads: 
"A man went from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell 
among robbers, who stripped and wounded him." 
This very gospel was verified on one of our pil- 



JERUSALEM TO JERICHO. 141 

grims. About one hour after our departure from 
Jerusalem, one of our pilgrims was thrown from 
his horse and severely hurt ; so our guides told 
two Arabians to take the wounded man, bring 
him to Jerusalem an.d place him in a hospital. 
Our guides thought they were good Samaritans, 
who would take care of the man ; but the trouble 
was that they were only too good, as they even 
took care of his watch and money. (St. Luke, 
chap, x, v. 30, 33 and 34.) "A certain man went 
from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell amongst rob- 
bers ; but a good Samaritan being on his journey, 
came near him, and, seeing him, was moved with 
compassion, and, going up to him, bound up his 
wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and setting him 
upon his own beast, brought him to an inn and 
took care of him." 

On our way we took dinner, which our guides 
had taken along from Jerusalem, in this very inn. 
According to tradition this is the same inn re- 
ferred to in the gospel, and it is probable, since 
along the whole distance there is no other house 
and this one is very old and just suitable for 
travelers. It is a very old and delapidated one- 
story stone structure and has a large porch to it 
in the rear. The whole back ground is enclosed 



142 JERUSALEM TO JERICHO. 

by a massive stone wall, where travelers tie their 
horses, donkeys or camels. 

We rested here about two hours, and at two 
o'clock rode on again towards Jericho. Along 
the road we met more " Good Samaritans," in- 
habitants of the country, who would stop some of 
our party every once in a while, loosen a buckle 
on either bridle or saddle and say that it was 
torn, although there was nothing the matter. Of 
course this was a new way of getting "bakchiche." 
This is somewhat similar to what one of our rev- 
erend pilgrims told me. When about to leave 
Naples, an Italian had shaken hands with him 
and wished him a good journey ; for this service 
the Italian had asked one franc. The priest gave 
it to the fellow, as he would not have got rid of 
him otherwise. 

At last, being very tired and worn out by 
fatigue and heat, we arrived at Jericho about six 
o'clock that evening. There we ail stopped at a 
small hotel. Some were obliged to sleep under 
tents, which were just as good, as these tents, 
which we had used in the Holy Land for over 
three weeks, were as good and convenient as 
could be. About nine o'clock in the evening 
some thirty Bedouins from the neighborhood 



JERUSALEM TO JERICHO. 143 

came in front of our hotel. They sang and 
danced, which was very amusing to us, but, 
of course, we had to pay two francs each 
" bakchiche." 

Jericho, once a nourishing city of Palestine, 
near the Dead Sea, in the valley of the Jordan, 
now has only about seven houses. It was at one 
time one of the richest cities of Canaan, beautifully 
situated and encircled b} T groves of balsam and 
palm trees. Jericho was the first city Josue took 
from the Canaanites ; at the sound of the trum- 
pets he overthrew its walls and put to the sword 
all its inhabitants except one woman named 
Rahab ; she and her family were spared on ac- 
count of the protection which she offered to spies 
of Josue, who had come to view the country. 
(Josue, chap, vi, v. 22 : "But Josue said to two 
men who had been sent out as spies : ' Go into 
the harlot's house and bring her out and all 
things that are hers.' " V. 23 : "And the young 
men went in and brought out Rahab." V. 24 : 
"But they burnt the city and all things that 
were therein.") Josue uttered this curse against 
Jericho : V. 26. " Cursed be the man before the 
Iyord that shall raise up and build the city of 
Jericho ; in his first-born may he lay the founda- 



144 DEAD SEA. * 

tion thereof, and in the last of his children set up 
its gates ! " 

During the reign of Achab, Hiel of Bethel 
undertook to rebuild Jericho, and by it exper- 
ienced the terrible curse, for he lost his oldest 
son, Abiram, while yet laying the foundations : 
the last of his sons, Segub, died when erecting 
the gates. (Ill Kings, chap, xvi, v. 34.) 

At daybreak of the next day we again 
mounted our horses and started towards the 
Dead Sea. After we had left Jericho, we passed 
several tents of Bedouins, who with torches car- 
ried fire from one tent to another. Around 
Jericho there is abundant water flowing from the 
Fountain of Eliseus, and the valley is also fertile. 
But the farmer is unable to get what he sows on 
account of the Bedouins and other robbers, con- 
sequently the environs of Jericho are full of briars 
and thorny trees. After riding about two hours 
we came to the 

DEAD SEA. 

This sea lies eighteen miles east of Jerusalem, 
between two immense chains of mountains, the 
Moab Mountains to the east and the Hebron 



DEAD SEA. 145 

Mountains to the west. In the Mountains of 
Moab and north of the Dead Sea is Nebo, where 
Moses died in sight of the promised land. (1451 
B. C.) (Deuteronomy, chap, xxxiv, v. 5 : "And 
Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there, in the 
land of Moab, by the commandment of the Lord." 
V. 1: "Then Moses went up from the Plains 
of Moab upon Mount Nebo." ) 

The Dead Sea is about forty miles long from 
north to south. Where this water is once stood 
the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. According 
to Lieut. Lynch and others its depth is 1,300 feet. 
Its water is bitter, salty and very disagreeable to 
the taste. We tasted it. When put into a tum- 
bler it is as clear as any other water. Bodies, 
when thrown in, float on it with greater buoyancy 
than in any other sea. When something is dipped 
in and taken out, the water evaporates immedi- 
ately, leaving a salt crust. About five of our 
party bathed in it, and they said, that as soon as 
they came into it three or four feet deep they 
were lifted up and that it is almost impossible to 
drown. We remained here about one-half hour 
then rode to the River Jordan, 



11 



146 



THE JORDAN. 



THE JORDAN. 

We arrived here after one hour's ride. Before 
we arrived our guides had erected a tent on the 
shore, in which Rt. Rev. Bishop Rademacher, 
Very Rev. Chas. Vissani and another priest said 
Masses on portable altars. The Jordan empties 
into the Dead Sea. It has its source from the 
Libanus. It enters the sea of Genesareth. 
Some of the pilgrims bathed in it. Our guides 
showed them some safe places. One must keep 
near the shore so as to avoid the strong current. 
In some places w r e noticed the water going down 
on one side of the shore and the opposite shore it 
flowed up. It inclines a great deal ; hence the 
rapidity of its waters. The entire length of the 
Jordan is about 120 miles, and its width from 
eighty to ninety feet. Considerable cane grows 
along the shores, and the surrounding country is 
the Ederi of Palestine. 

About two '"o'clock in the afternoon some of 
us mounted our horses to start back for Jericho, 
but our guides called us back, saying that it was 
not advisable for us, as the heat was very intense. 

It was about four o'clock when we all started 



THE JORDAN. 147 

back for Jericho, where we arrived at about six 
o'clock. We stopped a while and refreshed our- 
selves somewhat. Afterwards we rode to the 
fountain of Eliseus, located about twenty-five 
minutes from Jericho. It is named after the 
prophet, because its water could not be used and 
he made it wholesome. After we arrived there 
we all drank of it. 

The inhabitants of Jericho complained to the 
prophet that the water was not potable ; he then 
told them to bring a new pitcher and some salt. 
(IV. Kings, chap, ii, v. 19: "And the men of the 
city said to Eliseus : ' Behold, the situation of 
this city is very good, as thou, our lord, seest, 
but the waters are very bad and the ground 
barren.'" V. 20: "And he said: 'Bring me a 
new vessel and put salt into it.'" V. 21 : "And 
when they had brought it, he went out to the 
spring of the waters, cast the salt into it and said : 
'Thus sayeth the Eord: I have healed these 
waters, and there shall be no more in them death 
or barrenness." V. 22 : "And the waters were 
healed until this day, according to the words of 
Eliseus, which he spoke.") 



148 THE QUARANTINE MOUNTAIN. 



THE QUARANTINE MOUN- 
TAIN. 

Having stopped at the fountain for about fif- 
teen minutes, the pilgrims returned to Jericho 
for supper, whilst Rev. George Meyer, Mr. John 
Hoebing, Brother Bernardin and myself went to 
the Quarantine Mountain, which we reached in 
about twenty minutes. This mountain is thus 
named, because Our Lord fasted there forty days 
and forty nights, after which He was tempted by 
the devil on the top of the same mountain ; con- 
sequently it is also called Mount of Temptation. 

This mountain is entirely perforated with 
cells, which in former times were inhabited by 
Anchorites. Many of these cells are natural cav- 
ities, while some have been dug out. The one 
lying near the western angle of the mountain has 
an ogival entrance, and is, according to tradi- 
tion, the same one in which Our Lord dwelt dur- 
ing the days of His fasting. Near it is a kind of 
a narrow stone path, which we ascended with our 
horses as far as they could go. Just then we met 
a Turk coming down, whom we paid a few francs 
to hold our horses until we came down. Then 



BETHANIA. 149 

we walked up on a stone steps about one hundred 
feet high, until we were finally in the cave. The 
ascent was very tiresome The cave is about 
forty feet long. At one end of it live three Schis- 
matic Greeks, who have a small convent in the 
cave. They received their ammunition from Jeru- 
salem. They received us kindly and treated us to 
a little glassful of excellent brand}'. After we 
had been through the cave we returned to Jericho 
and took supper. The next morning we made 
an early start for Jerusalem. About nine o'clock 
A, M. w r e came to that inn, took lunch, and ar- 
rived at Bethania about twelve o'clock noon. 

BETHANIA. 

Bethania is at present a dirty hamlet of about 
twenty families. It lies three miles from Jerusa- 
lem on the east slope of Mount Olives. Bethania 
is mentioned in the New Testament as the place 
where Christ lodged, where He was anointed and 
w 7 here He raised Lazarus from the dead. There 
are still some ruins, which were pointed out to us, 
where the house of Mary and Martha should 
have stood. Bethania is especially known for 
the tomb of Lazarus, w 7 hich is a deep vault in the 



150 BKTHLEHEM. 

lime-stone rock. We entered it by a little door 
opening to the north, and by a flight of twenty- 
seven steps, made by the Franciscan Fathers. 
From the vestibule we descended three steps and 
then entered a low and difficult passage which 
leads to the tomb of Lazarus. (Gospel St. John, 
chap, xi, v. 1: " Now there was a certain man 
sick, named Lazarus, of Bethania, of the town of 
Mary, and Martha her sister.") The Franciscan 
Fathers come here several times in a year to 
offer the Holy Sacrifice. About two o'clock in 
the afternoon we were in Jerusalem again, en- 
tirely worn out. 

BETHLEHEM. 

Sunday afternoon, April 14th, the second and 
third section rode on wagons to Bethlehem, which 
is six miles south of Jerusalem. Upon our ar- 
rival, we went to the convent of the Franciscan 
Fathers, where we were received very kindly. 
As we could not go to the Grotto of the Nativity 
immediately, we refreshed ourselves somewhat, 
and went directly to the Grotto of the Shepherds, 
about twenty-five minutes' walk east of Bethle- 
hem. In going there we descended from Bethle- 



BETHLEHEM. 15 1 

hem and passed by the village of the shepherds. 
Here lives a Schismatic Greek priest, who has 
the key of the Grotto. Bro. Bernardin sent him 
word. After we went on a piece, the Greek 
passed us with the key, accompanied by a boy, 
who, as Bro. Bernardin told us, was the son of 
the Greek monk. After proceeding for about fif- 
teen minutes, we came to the Grotto of the Shep- 
herds. It is situated in the centre of a square, 
planted with olive trees and surrounded by a de- 
lapidated wall of dry stones. The Franciscan 
Fathers planted most of these olive trees when 
the grotto w r as still in their possession. The 
Greeks have been in possession of it since the 
year 1818. 

This chapel, which is in a little stone building, 
called the Grotto of the Shepherds, is, according 
to tradition, the ancient crypt of the church built 
by St. Helena, over the place where the angel of 
the Lord announced to the shepherds the birth 
of Christ. I read to the pilgrims in the Chapel 
of the Shepherds the Gospel of St. Luke, chap, ii, 
from the eighth verse, which says : "And there 
were in the same country shepherds watching 
and keeping the night watches over their flock.'' 
V. 9: "And behold an angel of the Lord stood 



152 BKTHIvEHKM. 

by them, and the brightness of God shone round 
about them, and they feared with a great fear, 
etc.," till verse 21. 

Returning, we immediately went into the 
church of St. Catharine, of the Franciscan Con- 
vent. After supper a procession was formed, 
and amid singing of hymns, we solemnly entered 
the Grotto of the Nativity by a flight of sixteen 
steps. Having entered the Holy Grotto, we find 
on the eastern side a semi-circular apse (a kind of 
a little altar), which encloses the precise spot of 
the birth of Christ. On this principal altar we 
Latins can not say Mass, as the Schismatic 
Greeks, who took possession of it, will not allow 
us. Here Very Rev. Chas. Vissani addressed 
the pilgrims in a few but touching words. This 
place still preserves some remains of the beauti- 
ful painting in mosaics, representing the new- 
born Saviour. Around the apse and near to the 
ground, burn day and night fifteen lamps; of 
these, four belong to the Latins, five to the Ar- 
menians and six to the Schismatic Greeks. A 
slab of white marble which covers the ground 
floor of the apse, shows through an aperture in 
its center a blueish colored stone, like of jaspar; 
the aperture has a silver star, bearing around it 



BETLHEHEM. 153 

this inscription: "Hie -de Virgine Maria Jesus 
Christus natus est. Here Jesus Christ was born of 
the Virgin Mary." In this apse is a table, which 
serves as an altar for the Greeks and Armenians, 
to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice. Right opposite 
this apse, about nine feet south-west, we descend 
by three steps into the oratory of the manger, 
which is six feet long and six feet wide. It is 
hewed out in the rock. The north and noith- 
eastern sides, which are open, are supported by 
three marble pillars. To the east, within this 
orator}' is an altar dedicated to the Three Holy 
Kings, erected over the spot where they adored 
Christ and offered their gifts. This altar still be- 
longs to the Latins. The Holy Grotto or Sub- 
terranean Chapel of the Nativity is thirty feet 
long, twelve feet wide and a little over seven feet 
high, and is paved with large flags of white mar- 
ble. The sides of the rock, which serve as walls 
are covered with similar slabs. The upper part 
and the sides otherwise seem natural, neither 
frescoed nor white-washed. Thirty-one lamps, 
seven belonging to the Latins, burn constantly in 
this venerable grotto. There are also other caves 
alongside of the Grotto of Nativity, which are con- 
nected with it by narrow passages. Here is 



1 54 BETHLEHEM. 

erected the Chapel of St. Joseph, from which we 
descend by five steps into another chapel, dedi- 
cated to the Holy Innocents. In one of the 
caves is also a chapel dedicated to St. Jerome, 
and has also an altar over his tomb. According 
to tradition, it was here that the Saint passed his 
nights and days in study and prayer. On the 
porch of the Basilica we saw a door giving access 
to the Armenian Convent (Schismatic), where a 
hall is shown called the School of St. Jerome, be- 
cause in it the Saint taught publicly the Christian 
Doctrine. A large church is built over the Grotto 
of the Nativity. At two o'clock the next morn- 
ing we started to say Mass in the Holy Grotto. 

GROTTO OF THE MILK. 

The next morning after we had said Mass 
and taken breakfast, we went from the Francis- 
can Convent to the Grotto of Milk, about ten 
minutes' walk. Tradition tells us that St. Joseph, 
having been informed by the angel, that Herod 
sought the Divine Jesus, took the Holy Virgin 
and her child for refuge to this grotto, to wait for 
a more favorable moment to continue their flight. 
The Blessed Mother there nursed her Jesus ; 



BETHLEHEM. 155 

some drops of her virginal milk, falling to the 
ground, have given to this site the virtue of pro- 
curing for all nurses in want of it, a supply. 
Whether Catholics, Schismatics or even Turks, 
all have recourse in this necessity to the grotto. 
They take some of the stone, which is chalky 
and easily dissolved, put it into a little water or 
other liquid and drink it. After having besought 
the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, many have 
obtained the desired favor. In the grotto a 
Franciscan Father gave each one of us two or 
three of these stones. Here, at Bethlehem, 
we were all very jolly; it was strange, and when 
Father Vissani asked the Superior of the Francis- 
cans how that w 7 as, he replied: "Bethlehem is a 
place of continual joy. Those Franciscan Fathers 
deserve all credit and support, as they even give 
their lives. Thousands of them w r ere killed al- 
ready in Palestine ; 4,000, in order to preserve 
the Holy Places." 

' In the afternoon, at two o'clock some of our 
pilgrims went to St. John in the Mountain, and 
others returned to Jerusalem. Bethlehem has 
about 4,000 inhabitants. 



156 THE PRESENT JERUSALEM. 



FEW REMARKS ABOUT THE 
PRESENT JERUSALEM. 

For the Mohammedans, Jerusalem ranks next 
in sanctity to Mecca and Medina, and is the Holy 
City for Jews and Christians likewise- The 
country around Jerusalem is rocky; the crops 
are not much as the soil is not fertile. The 
ground in many parts is covered with large stones 
and has a sad and barren appearance. The city 
is built very irregular. It has at present five 
open gates : The Jaffa Gate on the west (this is 
the principal one) ; the Damascus Gate on the 
north ; St. Stephen's Gate on the east ; the Zion 
Gate on the south ; the other is called Dung Gate. 

The gate through which Our Lord on Palm 
Sunday triumphantly entered Jerusalem, called 
the Golden gate, is at present walled up. Here a 
Mohammedan soldier stands continually on guard, 
for the Turks believe, that through this gate the 
Christians will one day come and take possession 
of the city. Its streets are uneven, poorly paved, 
narrow, winding and very dirty. Some streets 
are only four to six feet wide. All this accounts 
for it that we see no vehicle whatever in the 



THE PRESENT JERUSALEM. 1 57 

streets of Jerusalem. All building materials, 
such as stone, timber, etc., are transported on 
donkeys and camels. We sometimes saw as 
many as fifteen or twenty, camels, one behind the 
other, a regular procession, all loaded with large 
timber, fifteen or twenty feet long, fastened one 
on each side of the shoulder, the one end drag- 
ging on the ground. Time and again we saw 
these poor animals break down under the heavy 
weight. As we could not pass, we had a good 
chance to observe the whole proceedings. When 
a camel is about to be loaded, he lays down, and 
when loaded gets up himself. It is an interesting 
sight. Ruble is put in baskets, and two hung on 
each donkey. 

The houses are built of heavy masonry, with 
arched roofs, which are supported by thick walls. 
There is not much style about them, but as a 
general thing the rooms are well ventilated and 
lofty. The fronts are plain. The houses are 
usually two stories high. Few or no windows 
are seen in the first stories. The doors are so 
low that we must stoop when entering. The 
roofs rise in domes. The rooms receive light 
from interior courts, which, of course, in large 
houses forms an agreeable promenade. Some- 



158 CERTIFICATE OF JERUSALEM. 

times they are constructed in gardens, where the 
families spend their leisure hours. They gener- 
ally live in the upper stories, as in the first story 
they have their lumber, kitchen, stable, cistern, 
workshops and offices. Some are three or four 
hundred years old. 

OUR CERTIFICATE OF 
JERUSALEM. 

During our stay iri the Holy City each pilgrim 
received the following certificate, stamped with 
the seal of the Custody of the Holy Land. 

IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. 

ST. SAVIOUR'S CONVENT, JERUSALEM. 

We, the Custos of the Holy Land, attest and 
declare to all those who read these presents, 
that Rev. James Pfeiffer, a pilgrim, happily 
reached Jerusalem on the 7th day of April, 1889; 
that on the following days he visited the principal 
Sanctuaries, in which the Saviour of the world 
mercifully delivered His beloved people and, in- 
deed, the lost millitude of the whole human race 
from the servitude of hell — namely Calvary — 
where Christ was crucified and, overcoming 



BETHEL. 159 

death, opened to us the doors of Heaven ; the 
Holy Sepulchre, where His most $acred body 
was laid and rested for three days before His 
glorious Resurrection, and finally all those Sacred 
Places of Palestine, hallowed by the steps of Our 
Lord and His Blessed Mother, Mary ; places 
usually visited by our religious and by pilgrims — 
and that said pilgrim celebrated the Holy Sacri- 
fice -of the Mass in these places. 

In witness whereof we have granted this cer- 
tificate through our Secretary, and sealed with 
our official seal. 

Given at Jerusalem in our venerable Convent 
of the Holy Saviour, this 2 2d day of April, 1889. 

Fr. Joseph from Rome, O. S. F., 

Secretary of the Custody. 

BETHEL. 

On Easter Monday the second and third sec- 
tions took leave of the first section, the latter 
leaving Jerusalem the next day, going back to 
Jaffa and then home, whilst the others began 
their big horse-back trip for Nazareth, up to 
Beyrout. At an early hour on the day stated 



i6o 



BKTHEIv. 



above, we went to the Jaffa Gate, where our 
guides had the horses ready for us. Each one 
could pick his own horse; whosoever came first 
had first choice. 

After we had left the Jaffa Gate we directed 
our course northward, leaving on the left the 
road to St. John in the Mountains, and a little 
further on that of Jaffa. After we had gone on 
about twenty minutes we came to Mount Sekopus. 
Here, on this height, we all stopped, taking a good 
and last view of the Holy City. Saluting it, we 
continued our difficult journey until Bethel, which 
we reached about twelve o'clock noon. Here we 
stopped and ate dinner under our tent, pitched by 
our guides. To-day there are nothing but ruins 
at Bethel. It is about eleven miles north of Jeru- 
salem. Here Jacob beheld in a vision the angels 
ascend and descend. Here Abraham separated 
from his nephew Lot, on account of the disputes 
of their shepherds (1,933 years before Christ). 
Jacob flying from the wrath of his brother Esau 
passed the night here. Jacob, on his return from 
Mesopotamia built here an altar to Jehovah. The 
Prophet Amos prophesied against Bethel, saying : 
" Seek not Bethel ; Go not to Galgala ; pass not 
to Bersaber, because Galgala shall be led captive 



NAPLOUS. 



161 



and Bethel shall be reduced to nothing." (Amos, 
chap, v.) 

On leaving Bethel at three o'clock P. M., we 
left the Tribe of Benjamin to enter that of 
Ephraim. We directed our course north, until 
about two hours afterward, when we came 
into the beautiful Valley of Jifna. Here at Jifna, 
a little village of about 300 inhabitants, half of 
whom are Catholics, the rest Schismatic Greeks, 
we pitched our tents for the night. Tuesday 
morning, April 23d, about six o'clock, we left 
and ascended the Ridge of Shiloh, from where we 
rode over the hills and valleys to the Plain of 
Mukhna ; then rode up the valley to Jacob's Well 
and Joseph's Tomb. From the tomb we went up 
the valley between Mount Gerizim and Ebal (or 
Mount Gerisim). down past the end of Naplous, 
to our tents, which were here pitched, north of 
the town on a piece of ground rented for this 
purpose. Naplous is the site of ancient Sychar 
or Shichem. It was a cit} 7 of refuge. 

NAPLOUS. 

This town is situated about thirty miles north 
of Jerusalem and has 20,000 inhabitants, about 

12 



162 



NAPIyOUS. 



ioo of whom are Catholics; 500, Schismatic 
Greeks; 240, Samaritans, about the same num- 
ber of Jews, and the balance are Mohammedans. 
It has a Latin Missionary. The city is long, the 
streets are dark and narrow, most of them being 
arched over, and the pavements are very slippery. 
Most of its little commerce is in soap and cotton. 
The only interesting object for us at Naplous was 
the Pentateuch, written in the Samaritan Lan- 
guage and with Samaritan letters, on large sheets 
of parchment, rolled round small wands. This 
precious manuscript is kept in the Samaritan 
Synagogue, where we paid four or five piasters to 
see it. 

The City of Naplous is pleasantly situated in 
a beautiful and fertile valley, between the Moun- 
tains of Hebal and Garizim ; it is watered by sev- 
eral excellent streams. Here, at Naplous, we 
had our tents pitched near a Turkish cemetery. 
Near it under a small building, supported by 
four stone columns, sides open, were some thirty 
women and a few 7 small boys, screaming and 
weeping. They were weeping women of whom 
the Gospel speaks. Rev. Christopher Hughes was 
the first one who noticed these ; so he went there, 
and after he was fooled he came back and told 



NAPIX>US. 163 

Mr. John Hoebing to go up there as there were 
some women crying ; it seemed to him they had 
a dead person lying there ; but, said he, you must 
go up very close to see it well. So John Hoebing 
came and told me about it, and I told Rev. 
George Meyer, after which we started on, going 
pretty fast, for fear it might be all over by. the 
time we got there. When we came somewhat 
near, we saw they were kneeling and sitting on 
the ground, clapping their hands, lamenting and 
weeping for all that was in them ; but we could 
see nothing else. As I was ahead of my two 
companions I tried to to get as close to the weep- 
ing women and children as possible, as Rev. 
Hughes had told us ; but as soon as we attempted 
to go near them, they came towards us shak- 
ing their fists, and the little boys picked up 
stones. Now, since Father Meyer had a kind of 
a white bed-sheet hanging over him, on account 
of the great heat, I told him to go up closer, be- 
cause his costume was somewhat similar to the 
k ind they wore, and they might think him one 
of them (always thinking go up very close) ; so 
he made attempts to get closer, courageous as he 
always was, and began to salute them in their 
language, saying : " Salem alei Rum. Peace be 



164 NAPI^OUS. 

with you;'' but they responded his well meant 
salutation by nearly rushing on to us and hurl- 
ing stones at us. Then they called a policeman 
who stood on guard not very far off. As soon as 
I noticed that I retraced. Father Meyer was 
not in a great hurry, so the policeman gave him 
to understand that he had to go away . Father 
Meyer, still not in a great hurry, (I suppose be- 
cause he saluted them so nicely, and meant it so 
well), the policeman gave him a push ; then I told 
him to come along, or he might get into trouble; 
so we had to go back without seeing what they 
had. Father Hughes in the meantime kept 
watching us, and if ever any man laughed hearty 
it was Father Hughes when we came back. A 
short while after we saw them carry a corpse out 
of the town to the grave-yard We heard them 
weep during the whole night. Our guide after- 
wards told us that they weep thus for eight days ; 
of course they were paid. 

Early next morning we left Naplous, and rode 
down a fertile and well cultivated valley towards 
Samaria. We rode along the plateau, 011 which 
stood Ahab's ivory palace, and passed along the 
remains of a colonnade, which stood since the 
time of Herod. Along here we had a beautiful, 



NAPLOUS. 165 

wide pike. So Rev. M. J. Phelan, Mr. Frank 
Headon, Mr. Jos. Isma) T and myself left the com- 
pany and rode ahead. Father Phelan and myself 
often done so, because it was dangerous to remain 
in the crowd, which numbered over 100 horses. 
Our guides always wanted us to keep together as 
close as possible, which was, as I said before, very 
dangerous, for as soon as the horses came near to 
each other, they would begin to kick ; in fact, 
that same afternoon a priest of our party was 
kicked by a horse and had a leg broken a few 
miles this side of Nazareth. He was carried in a 
kind of baldachin to the hospital in Nazareth, 
where he had to remain for three months. When 
we were about to leave our part}', Mr. Giled, 
our guide, advised us to remain in the company, 
as he w r ould not send after us if w T e got lost. We 
went on nevertheless, thinking, that we w r ould be 
able to see where the road turned off. As this 
was the only road, we kept on riding pretty fast, 
until we came to a little branch. Here we rested 
a short while, lit our pipes and left our horses 
drink. After we had been here a little while, I 
said to Father Phelan : "Why, it seems our folk 
are not coming ! " " Oh yes " said he, " they are 
far behind; they are coming!" After having 



NAPIX>US- 



waited yet a while, I said, that it seemed they 
were not coming ; that better some one take the 
best horse and ride back to see. " No, " said 
Father Phelan, " we will all ride back ." So we 
galloped back for about two miles. On the way 
we met an old raggy Arab, whom Father Phelan 
asked : "Did you see Cookey ? " (Cookey, since 
we traveled under Cooks' guidance.) The Arab 
did not make a motion ; so we on back, and at 
last we saw, on a hill to our left, persons riding. 
We felt relieved, thinking, that they were of our 
party ; but as we came nearer, we saw that we 
had been mistaken. We then asked them, whe- 
ther they had seen any of Cooks' party, which 
they answered in the negative. (These people 
were from England.) We rode on again and at 
last one of Cooks' guides came along, hunting us. 
As good luck would have, we were then on the 
right road, and not very far from Samaria, where 
our party was. They had turned off from the 
main road by a .little path, which we had not 
noticed. We met our pilgrims again at Samaria, 

In Samaria there are only few houses. There 
was shown to us a grave, said to be that of St, 
John the Baptist. 

After we had rode on for a while, we halted 



NAPIyOUS. 167 

under some trees, near a well and took dinner. 
Here our guide came to us four, who had missed 
our party, and said, that the man, whom he had 
sent after us, had lost his watch ; and we four had 
to pay for it, each eight francs. I did not believe 
it immediately, but he kept on troubling us, until 
we finally paid it. This w r as another way of get- 
ting u bakchiche ". The next da}^, another guide 
tried the same trick (to get u bakchiche ") by 
wSaying, that he had lost his watch through having 
done some favor or other to some of our party. 
They would have kept on that way. 

After dinner we left again, until, in the even- 
ing we came to Jenin, where our tents were 
pitched for that night on the Plain of Esdraelon, 
north-east of the village, w 7 hich is surrounded by 
mountains ; on the south are the Hills of Sama- 
ria ; on the west, Mount Carmel ; on the north- 
west, the Hills of Galilee, and on the north-east, 
the Mountains of Gilboa. 

The next morning, Thursday April 25th, we 
made an early start and crossed the plain in tw T o 
hours to Jezred, then down the valley for half an 
hour to Gideon's Fountain. After a one hour's 
ride from the fountain, a halt w 7 as made for lunch 
under the lemon ' trees at Shunem ; then on to 



x68 



NAPIyOUS. 



Endor and up to Nazareth. Here we passed the 
Mount of Precipice, thus called, because the Jews 
drove Christ out of a synagogue at Nazareth and 
led Him to this mount, from which they wanted 
to throw Him. 

A little this side of Nazareth, the congrega- 
tion met us, headed by Rev. Godfrey Schilling, 
O. S. F., the pastor, who immediately conducted 
us to the Church of the Annunciation. After 
having entered the Basilica, Father Godfrey as- 
cended the steps that lead to the High Altar, wel- 
comed and addressed us pilgrims, saying amongst 
other things : " You have now reached one of the 
principal sanctuaries of the Holy Land ; when 
we are here in Nazareth, we fancy we see our Di- 
vine Saviour at every step we take ! " After this 
we venerated the spot, where stood the Holy 
House, whereafter we put up at the Franciscan 
monastery. 

Father Godfrey Schilling is a Franciscan and 
belongs to the province of St. John the Baptist, 
Cincinnati, Ohio. About eight years ago, before 
he left for Palestine, he came to see me. He re- 
turned to New York in the spring of 1891, and 
is now Assistant Commissary of the Holy Land 



NAZARETH. 169 

for the United States, with Very Rev. Chas. Vis- 
sani at New York. 

NAZARETH. . 

Nazareth is beautifully situated in a valley, 
surrounded on all sides by hills. It mostly con- 
tains stone houses, having flat roofs. From a 
distance it presents a good appearance. It num- 
bers a population of about 5, coo, and lies 
sixty-five miles north of Jerusalem The Latin 
Church, called " Church of the Annunciation ", 
is one of the finest in Palestine. Christ lived in 
Nazareth about thirty years, and for this reason 
it is so celebrated. It was in this humble village 
of Nazareth, where St. Joseph and the Immacu- 
late Virgin dwelt, and that the Son of God took 
upon Himself our human nature so as to accom- 
plish our Redemption. 

CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION. 

The first morning of our stay in Nazareth, we 
said Mass in the Church of the Annunciation. 
When we came about to the centre of the church, 
w T e descended seventeen marble steps. Having 
reached the eighth step, we saw in the wall on 
each side of the staircase, a black stone, indica- 



170 NAZARETH. 

ting the southern extremity of the Holy House. 
After descending six more steps, we were in a 
rectangular chapel, formerly occupied by the Ho- 
ly House. Two altars are fixed against the 
northern wall ; the one to the right dedicated to 
St. Joachim, and the one to the left, to the Arch- 
angel Gabriel. From this chapel we descended 
two steps by a pretty large passage between the 
altars and entered the Holy Grotto. This Grotto 
is entirely cut out in the rock, and, with the ex- 
ception of the roof, lined with marble. 

To the left, we saw the shaft of a pillar of red 
granite, which, it is said, indicates the place, 
where the Immaculate Virgin stood, whilst she 
spoke to the Heavenly Visitor. After the fire in 
the year 1630, some Africans, thinking that they 
might find a treasure concealed therein, broke it. 
It is now firmly fastened to the roof, being as 
it were, suspended from it. Between this pillar 
and the Altar of the Archangel Gabriel is anoth- 
er, indicating the place where the Angel stood, 
whilst delivering his divine message. Opposite 
thereto is an altar, dedicated to the Annunciation ; 
above it is the Cross of the Holy Land, encrusted 
in a piece of white marble a few feet above the 
ground ; beneath the altar, on the ground, we 



NAZARETH. 171 

read on a tin star these words : " Hie verbum earo 
factum est (Here the Word was made Flesh)". 
I celebrated Mass on this altar. To the left of 
the Altar of the Annunciation, we ascended two 
steps into another chapel, not lighted from with- 
out, where an altar, dedicated to St. Joseph is 
fixed against the wall at its extremity, so that 
this altar and that of the Annunciation are back 
to back, both against the same wall. 

From this last chapel w r e went by a staircase 
of thirteen steps to a grotto, which, according to 
a pious legend, was the kitchen of the Blessed 
Virgin. 

We also went about 300 yards to the north- 
east of the Franciscan convent, to visit a chapel, 
newly built by the Franciscan Fathers on the ru- 
ins of a church, erected by the Crusaders on the 
site of the workshop of St. Joseph. About 100 
steps north-west of the same convent is a chapel, 
built on the site of the synagogue, where Our 
Lord preached the Gospel and whence the inha- 
bitants drove Him and attempted to throw Him 
from the top of the Mount of Precipice. From 
this synagogue, about 500 feet to the south-west, 
we visited a chapel, recently built by the Fran- 
ciscans on the ruins of the more ancient chapel ; 



172 MOUNT THABOR. 

here we saw a stone, covering almost the whole 
centre. This stone is called Mensa Christi\ ac- 
cording to tradition, it served as a table for 
Our Lord and His disciples after the Resur- 
rection. 

THE VIRGIN FOUNTAIN. 

About 400 steps from the Franciscan convent, 
at the north-eastern extremity of Nazareth, is the 
only fountain of this city; it is called the "Foun- 
tain of the Blessed Virgin ", because she, accor- 
ding to tradition, came to this fountain for the 
water, necessary in her modest household. We 
all drank of it. The water comes by means of 
an aqueduct. We continually saw people, espe- 
cially women, going to and fro, carrying jugs on 
their heads. 

The Franciscan Fathers at Nazareth have a 
boys' school, and the Sisters an orphanage and 
girls' school, which are attended b}^ a large num- 
ber of Arabian children. 

MOUNT THABOR. 

Saturday morning, April 27th, we left for Ti- 
berias, via Mount Thabor. We left Nazareth by 



MOUNT THABOR. 1 73 

the north-east side. After a few minutes we ar- 
rived on the heights, from which we could see 
Mount Thabor. But we were not there yet. In 
Palestine a person can see very far, because the 
atmosphere is so clear. After riding on for about 
two hours on a bad and stony road, we came to 
the foot of Mount Thabor. We began the ascent 
of the mountain by a path, which crosses a little 
ravine, then runs between green oaks and shrub- 
bery, until we came to a well-cleared zigzag road. 
The ascent on horseback took one hour's time. 

Mount Thabor is situated in the Plain of Es- 
draelon, six miles south-east of Nazareth in Ga- 
lilee. It is noted as the scene of the Transfigur- 
ation of Christ. It is about 1900 feet high, lime- 
Stone, and the sides are thickly covered with 
shrubbery of all kinds. A large portion of the 
plateau is covered with ruins and old walls. As 
we approach the summit and proceed, we pass 
between two walls ; the one to the right belongs 
to the Franciscans where they have a small Con- 
vent and Chapel of the Transfiguration ; the 
other to the left belongs to the Schismatic Greeks 
who also have a dwelling here. 

Mount Thabor, separated from the other moun- 
tains, is higher than any of those which surround 



174 MOUNT THABOR. 

it. The Prophet Jeremiah compared Nabucho- 
donosor to it, saying: " As I live, (sayeth the 
King, Whose name is the Lord of hosts,) as Tha- 
bor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by 
the sea, so shall he come " (Jeremiah, chap, 
xlvi, v. 1 8.) 

This celebrated mountain is likewise men- 
tioned in the Psalms. "Thabor and Hermon 
shall rejoice in Thy name." (Psalm lxxxviii, v. 13. 

It was on Mount Thabor, where Our Lord, 
before completing the w T ork of our Redemption, 
gave some glimpses of His glory, in His Transfig- 
uration, in presence of the three apostles, who 
were destined to witness His sufferings in the 
Garden of Gethsemane. On Mount Thabor His 
apostles were inspired and filled with enthusiasm, 
for they should encounter many hardships, before 
their pilgrimage was to be at an end. Our pil- 
grims on Mount Thabor were inspired and filled 
with enthusiasm in like manner, so much so, that 
they spoke of subscribing money to build a 
church on Mount Thabor, in honor of the " First 
American Catholic Pilgrimage to Palestine and 
actually, a few hours later, a subscription list was 
drawn up, headed by Mr. Frank Headon with 
$500.00; others followed with $100.00 etc. In 



LAKE OF GENESARETH. 175 

some way or another this matter was dropped 
again, aswe, like the apostles, experienced harder 
times on our pilgrimage. 

After remaining on the mountain for about 
one hour, during which time w T e took a little re- 
freshment, we descended by the same road ; some 
lead their horses, for fear of falling off. Coming 
down, we traveled on for about two hours until 
we came to a fountain, near which a tent was 
pitched, where we stopped to take dinner. 

Father Godfrey, O. S. F., who had accompan- 
ied us here from Nazareth, took leave after dinner 
and returned to Nazareth. 

At two o'clock P. M. we made a start for Ti- 
berias. 

THE LAKE OF GENESARETH 
OR TIBERIAS. 

After having continued for about three hours 
north-east, we ascended a mountain, bringing us 
in sight of Tiberias, situated on the shores of a 
splendid lake of the same name. From here the 
road descends a very steep path. In about twenty- 
five minutes we reached the shores of the celebra- 
ted Lake of Genesareth, Sea of Galilee or Lake 



176 LAKE OF GKNESARETH. 

of Tiberias. On the side of the town of Tiberias 
our tents were pitched for the next two nights. 

Tiberias has about 3,500 inhabitants, of 
whom about 400 are Catholics, the balance are 
Jews and Mussulmen. The Franciscan Fathers 
of the Holy Land have a hospital here. The 
church in which we said mass next morning, (it 
being Sunday), is dedicated to the Apostle St. 
Peter. According to tradition it stands on the 
spot where Christ said to St. Peter: "Feed my 
sheep". It was here also, that Christ gave to St. 
Peter the keys of heaven. Rt. Rev. Martin 
Marty, O. S. B., DD. of Sioux Falls, S. Dakota, 
is Bishop i. p. of this town. It is sixty-five miles 
north of the Dead Sea. Sunday morning about 
ten o'clock we went boat-riding on the beautiful 
Lake of Genesareth to Chorazin, Bethsaida and 
Capernaum. The lake is pear-shaped, being fif- 
teen miles in length and six miles wide. From 
north to south the river Jordan flows through it, 
connecting it with the Dead Sea. Its water is 
clear and sweet and the hills that surround it are 
of a uniform brown color. 

Our trip was most delightful, the lake being 
perfectly calm. Our guide informed us, that occa- 
sionally fierce, devastating storms arise suddenly, 



LAKE OF GENESARETH. ijj 

and apparently without provocation. History 
narrrtes, that such instances occurred already 
during the time of Christ, who was often on this 
lake. (Gospel St. Luke, chap, v, v. i : "And it 
came to pass, that when the multitudes pressed 
upon Him to hear the Word of God, He stood 
by the Lake of Genesareth." V. 3 : "And, going 

up into one of the ships, And behold, a 

great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat 
was covered with waves, but He was asleep." 
Matth., chap, viii., v. 24.) As we arrived at Cap- 
ernaum, we left the boats to view the ruins, w T hich 
are now virtually all that is left of that once fa- 
mous city. On coming back, we passed a little 
hamlet called Magdala, because it is here where 
the Saint, according to tradition, was born. As 
we passed this place, we more than ever be- 
lieved the words of the Gospel quoted above, 
as suddenly a great tempest arose on the lake, 
which frightened us considerably. 

Monday morning April 29th, we returned to 
Nazareth. On leaving Tiberias we had a stony 
road, which, without being entire!} 7 bad, ascends 
to the north-west. Having been about an hour- 
on the road, we reached the celebrated Plain of 
Hittine. This is the place where Our Lord mul-. 

o 



178 CANA OF GAULEK. 

tiplied the seven loaves and two fishes. Another 
half hour's journey brought us to the foot of the 
Mountain of Beatitudes. It was here where, 
according to the Jews, Jethro the father-in-law of 
Moses and great sacrificer of Madian was buried. 
It was on this Mountain that Our L,ord preached 
the wonderful Gospel of the eight Beatitudes. 

CANA OF GALILEE. 

Having left the Mount of Beatitude about 
forty minutes, we were in sight of Cana. The 
first building we saw this side of it, was a ruined 
mosque, which marks the site of the dwelling of 
Nathanael. It was at Cana, of Galilee, that an 
officer, dwelling at Capernaum came to Jesus to 
beseech Him to restore his dying son to health. 
(St. John, chap, iv, v. 46: "He came again 
therefore into Cana, of Galilee, where he made 
the water wine. And there was a certain ruler 
whose son was sick at Capernaum.") 

As we proceeded a little farther we were in 
the small town of Cana, where we took dinner at 
the monastery of the Franciscan Fathers. After 
dinner we went to the church, where Rt. Rev. 
Bishop Rademacher gave Benediction with the 



MOUNT CARMEL. 1 79 

Blessed Sacrament. Cana is about four miles 
north-east of Nazareth. It is a small village of 
about 600 inhabitants. There are some Catho- 
lics here, but the most are Greeks and Mussulmen. 
It lies on the side of a hill, near to an excellent 
spring, which irrigates the surrounding country. 
Here we saw large cactuses, fig trees, olive and 
pomegranate trees, which prosper wonderfully. 
From Cana, going west, the road lies between two 
rows of cactuses. After having proceeded for an 
hour on a broken, stony road, almost southward,we 
reached a height in sight of Nazareth, and after 
descending the hill for about ten minutes, we 
passed before the Fountain of the Blessed Virgin, 
and in five minutes found ourselves again in 
Nazareth, where w T e sojourned for the night. 

MOUNT CARMEL. 

We left Nazareth Tuesday morning, April 
30th, for Mount Carmel, and ascended a stony 
road towards the west; afterwards we turned 
north-west and lost sight of Nazareth. Proceed- 
ing on a bad road we at last came into the Plain 
of Esdraelom 

About an hour afterwards we stopped under 



i8o 



MOUNT CARMEL. 



one of our tents and ate dinner. From here, and 
ere this, we saw the heights of Carmel. 

At two o'clock P. M., we went on, and 
crossed the River Kishon. About two hours 
after we had crossed this torrent, we came to 
Caifa, at the foot of Mount Carmel, toward the 
southern extremity of the beautiful Bay of St. 
John d' Acre. Several consuls have their resi- 
dence here. Its population is 4,000, of which 
1,000 are Schismatic Greeks; 600, United 
Greeks; 30, Maronites ; 1,000, Jews; 170, 
Latins ; the remainder Mussulmen. The in- 
terior of the city is dark and dirty, and sur- 
rounded by a wall. It took us about thirty min- 
utes to ascend the heights of Carmel by a small 
stony road. We then continued on to the Car- 
melite Monastery on the western slope of Mount 
Carmel, where we put up for the night, and from 
where we had the finest view to be had in Pales- 
tine. Its highest elevation above the sea is 
1,730 feet. Some years ago a German colony set- 
tled on the sides of Carmel, trying to cultivate 
the fertile soil. It was on Mount Carmel, that 
God confounded the ministers of Baal, through 
the Prophet Elias. This celebrated mountain 
was the residence of Elias, who kept his school 



MOUNT CARMEL. 



181 



there. The Holy Writ speaks of the beauty of 
Carmel. (Isaias, chap, xxxv, v. 2 : " It shall 
bud forth and blossom and shall rejoice with joy 
and praise; the glory of Libanus is given to it, 
the beauty of Carmel and Saron ; they shall see 
the glory of the Lord, and the beauty of Our 
God.") 

According to tradition, St. Anne herded flocks 
here, and had a residence for her shepherds, where 
she often came with the Blessed Virgin. To- 
wards the year eighty-three, the hermits of Mount 
Carmel built a church there, which was dedicated 
to the Blessed Virgin. In 1245 Simon Stock, of 
Kent, England, after having lived for some 
time at Mount Carmel, became General of his 
Order and instituted at Rome the Confraternity of 
the Holy Scapular, in order to unite in one body, 
by exercise of piety, all who sought to honor 
especially the Blessed Virgin. In 1921, one hun- 
dred religious were massacred together, on Mount 
Carmel, whilst singing the " Salve Regina." The 
infidels continued to torment and assail the Car- 
melites occasionally, until they massacred them in 
1635. During the siege of St. John d' Acre, by 
Bonaparte, the Convent of Mount Carmel was 
converted into a hospital for the wounded, where 



182 



MOUNT CARMKlv. 



this great General came to visit them. After the 
retreat of the French army, the Mussulmen 
came, and massacred all, leaving them unburied. 
When the Carmelite Fathers returned to take 
possession, they found the bones of these victims, 
scattered over the mountain ; they gathered them 
and had them buried in one grave, facing the gate 
of the convent, towards the sea, and placed over 
it a small pyramid. The Convent of the Car- 
melite Fathers is an immense square building, 
situated towards the extreme north-west of Cape 
Carmel. It contains a church, the exterior 
door of which faces the sea. Beneath the 
high altar, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, is 
the Grotto of Elias (in this cave I said Mass), be- 
cause it was formerly the dwelling of the great 
prophet. It is entered by a flight of five steps, 
and is fifteen feet long and nine feet wide. Above 
this cave is the high altar of this beautiful church, 
and above the high altar is a statue of the Blessed 
Virgin, representing her, reaching the Scapular of 
Mount Carmel to Simon Stock. 



ST. JOHN D' ACRE. — BEYROUT. 



183 



ST. JOHN D' ACRE. 

The next morning, it being May 1st, we left 
Mount Carmel, leading our horses down another 
road, which was very steep. We visited another 
cave, which served as a school of the prophets, 
and then came through Caifa and rode along the 
beautiful Bay of St. John d' Acre. We arrived 
here at about twelve o'clock noon and ate dinner 
under our tent. 

St. John d' Acre is a seaport of Syria, and is 
sit a ted north of Mount Carmel, with about 5,000 
inhabitants. It has a very good harbor. 

In the afternoon we passed Sarepta, on our 
way to Sidon. 

The next day we rode along the shores of the 
Mediterranean Sea up to Beyrout. 

BEYROUT. 

We arrived here Saturday, April 4th, at four 
o'clock P. M. This ended our long horse-back 
trip, and we were all glad of it, as we were very 
tired. We stopped at the Hotel d' Orient for three 
days. Beyrout is fifty-five miles north west of 



184 BKYROUT. 

Damascus, and there is a daily stage from here 
to Damascus. It has a population of about 
100,000. The situation is beautiful, and the 
climate mild. The streets in the suburbs are 
wide and passable for carriages. The houses are 
large and built of stone. It has a fine American 
college, and good bazaars. The American Prot- 
estants have their center here for their Missions 
in Syria. A great many Europeans are residing 
here. Its exports are grain, wool, cotton, raw 
silk, hides, tobacco, oils, hemp, drugs, figs and 
native wines. The last afternoon we were here, 
we went to the Convent of the Capuchin Fathers, 
and entered their church, where Rt. Rev. Bishop 
Rademacher addressed the pilgrims again, saying, 
amongst other things : " Since we have finished 
our blissful trip through the Holy Land, we 
should thank Almighty God once more for the 
graces bestowed upon us, and for having knelt 
at all the Holy Places with us." After this, Bene- 
diction with the , Blessed Sacrament was given. 
Returning to our hotel, we ate supper, after 
which we took leave of the second section, who 
left for home the next day. 

We left Beyrout Tuesday evening, at six 
o'clock, for Constantinople, on Austrian Lloyd 



ISLAND OF CYPRUS. — SMYRNA. 1 85 

Steamer "Diana." As we left the dock, we had 
to present our Turkish pass-port, which we 
bought in Jerusalem. 

THE ISLAND OF CYPRUS. 

The next day, after we left Beyrout, we passed 
the Island of Cyprus. It is a Turkish Island* 
and the most eastern of the Mediterranean. To- 
wards the north it is about forty miles from the 
coast of Asia Minor. This island is about 150 
miles long, and 50 miles wide. 

The next day, Thursday, April 9th, at twelve 
o'clock noon, we passed the Island of Rhodes. 
It has a population of about 40,000, and is ruled 
by a Pasha, who holds office for life. We stopped 
here about two hours. 

SMYRNA. 

Friday, April 10th, at ten o'clock A. M., we 
arrived at Smyrna, ^where we stopped off to visit 
Ephesus. As soon as we reached the dock, we 
were asked for our pass-port ; they were very 
strict with that. One man of our party could not 
find his, so some officers placed him in jail, al- 



i86 



BPHBSUS. 



though a friend of his went to the American Con- 
sul and explained the matter, whereupon, in the 
afternoon, he was set free again. After we fin- 
ished presenting our Turkish pass-port, there 
were about fifty carriages in readiness, that took 
us to the depot, which was about a mile and a 
half distant, where after half an hour we took the 
train for Ephesus, in Asia Minor, which is fifty- 
four miles from here. 

EPHESUS. 

The country through which we passed here 
was level, and the soil fertile. There is a great 
deal of wine raised along where we passed 
through. A bottle of wine costs only eight cents, 
according to our American money. The railroad 
cars are like those of Europe and Egypt ; they 
could be improved considerably. 

After about two hours we came to Ephesus. 
At the station where w r e got off there are about 
five houses, amongst them t hotel and a restau- 
rant. The ruins of the ancient, once renowned 
city are about a mile and a half from the station. 
As soon as we arrived we walked out to these. 

On the way our guide now and then showed 



EPHESUS. 187 

us some remnants of the city walls Ephesus 
lies very low. I think we all suffered more from 
fatigue and heat, than even at the Jordan. 
Amongst the ruins we saw here, of any interest to 
us, w T as the Tomb of St. John the Evangelist, 
who was Bishop of Ephesus. Several of our 
party, including* myself, knocked small pieces of 
marble off his tomb-stone. I was so much the 
more interested, since this beloved apostle of Our 
Divine Lord is also the Patron Saint of my church. 
We also saw some ruins of a large building, said 
to have been his church. On our way back to 
the station the ruins of the celebrated Temple of 
Diana were shown to us. 

Diana, an ancient Italian divinity, in many 
respects corresponded with the Greek Artemis. 
Artemis was a twin sister of Apollo. She, 
like Apollo, sent plague upon men and animals. 
She was represented as a goddess. She was the 
goddess of the moon ; also the guardian of young 
girls and women. She wore a long robe and veil, 
and loved to live in groves and at wells. Her 
statue was of ivory, and richly ornamented with 
gold. 

The Temple of Diana, at Ephesus, was 
considered one of the seven wonders of the world. 



KPHKSUS. 



At the time St. Paul preached at Ephesus, in the 
year 54, it was the most notable thing in the 
city. St. Paul founded a Christian church here. 
It was also here, at Ephesus, that one of the most 
important Councils of the Church was held in the 
year 196, where the Bishops of Asia assembled, 
to fix the day for the celebration of Easter. 
Ephesus was furthermore adorned with a great 
theater, which held 50,000 persons. Ephesus 
is one of the twelve Ionian cities of Asia Minor. 

In the year 356, the night on which Alexander 
the Great was born, the Temple of Diana was 
hurnt by a certain Erostratus, who, by doing so, 
thought he would immortalize himself. The 
temple is said to have been 425 feet long, and 220 
feet wide. It was four times as large as the 
Parthenon of Athens. After we had inspected 
the ruins of this magnificent and most wonderful 
temple, we repaired to the station and partook of 
some refreshments at the hotel, after which Very 
Rev. Chas. A. Vissany laid down on a bench in 
said hotel to rest a little; when it was time for us 
to go to the depot to make the train, he arose, and 
thinking and knowing there was no damage done 
by it, made motion to go, but the hotel-keeper 
thinking otherwise, told him, to his great sur- 



SMYRNA (CONTINUED). 1 89* 

prise, that he had to pay three francs for resting on 
the bench, which, of course, nolens volens he had 
to pay. This was another way of getting 
"bakchiche." 

About four o'clock P. M., the same day, we 
took the train back to Smyrna, arriving there 
about six o'clock. We again had carriages to 
take us to the dock. In driving along the sea r 
there was a strong breeze which blew Father 
Vissani's hat off ; so he told one of the passers-by 
kindly to pick it up and reach it to him, but the 
fellow wanted to be paid before he would touch 
the hat, which then, of course, under the circum- 
stances he got. On arriving here, we made for 
our steamer again, which was chartered for us. 

SMYRNA —CONTINUED. 

The next morning some of us hired a guide 
and a carriage and drove through the City Smyrna,, 
to see the most noteworthy things. We, as a 
matter of course, made a bargain with the guide 
for his service and the carriage befoi e we started- 
When we returned three of us paid our share to 
Rev. George Meyer, the fourth member, and who 
had made the agreement, and he settled with 



190 SMYRNA (CONTINUED). 

the guide. So when he gave him the money 
agreed upon, the guide said that this was only 
for the carriage ; he must be paid extra, he said, 
and furthermore, some of that money was coun- 
terfeit. He quarreled for quite a while, so I told 
Father Meyer to leave him go, and come along. 
We then went back to our steamer, this fellow 
following us all over it until it left. The distance 
from Beyrout to Smyrna is 700 miles. Smyrna is 
on the west coast of Asia Minor, 300 miles south- 
west of Constantinople. It has 200,000 inhab- 
itants, of whom about 20,000 are Catholics. The 
greater part of the city stands upon a plain, and 
part of it on the slope of a hill, which gives it a 
very nice appearance. Its streets, in general, are 
narrow ; it has a so-called caravan bridge with 
some ground around it, to accomodate camels at 
night. The Christians live mostly along the 
shore. The governor's palace, at Smyrna, is one 
of the principal buildings. It has also a beautiful 
Catholic Cathedral. The Catholics, Greeks and 
Armenians have 'each an archbishop residing at 
Smyrna. 

There is a great deal of commerce carried on 
at Smyrna — important for steamers. Its harbor 
is magnificent and very much crowded. St. 



THE DARDANELLES. 191 

Polycarp was its first bishop. St. John in his 
Revelation speaks of seven churches; one of 
these was at Smyrna. 

Our steamer left Smyrna for Constantinople 
Saturday, at eleven o'clock A. M. Our voyage 
on the Mediterranean Sea could not have been 
better. 

THE DARDANELLES. 

About six o'clock the next morning we passed 
the Dardanelles. They are castles built on the 
shores of the Hellespont, which joins the Agean 
Sea to the Sea of Marmora ; it extends about 
forty miles. On its shore stood a city in ancient 
times called Dardanus, from which the name 
Dardanelles was taken. They are to guard the 
entrance to Constantinople, especially [ships of 
war. Opposite, on the Turkish shore, to our left, 
as we went to Constantinople, we saw a great 
many soldiers and tents. 

Before we entered the Dardanelles we passed 
a large man-of-war, which was there on guard. 
Xerxes united here the two continents with the 
bridge he built. At this place Alexander the 



I92 SKA OF MARMORA. — CONST ANTINOPI/E. 

Great crossed into Asia, and L,eander swam across 
to visit Hero. 

THE SEA OF MARMORA. 

After we had passed the Dardanelles we came 
into the Sea of Marmora. This sea lies between 
European and Asiatic Turkey. It is about 160 
miles long, forty-five miles w T ide and very deep. 
It is connected with the Black Sea by the Bos- 
porus, and with the Archipelago by the Dar- 
danelles. It contains several Islands, the principle 
one being the Island of Marmora, which is from 
ten to twelve miles long, one mile wide, and 
barren and hilly. It is known for its excellent 
marble and derives its name from the Latin term 
marmor. 

CONSTANTINOPLE. 

We arrived here at seven o'clock Sunday 
evening, the 12th of April. As the Turks allow 
no steamer to land or enter its harbor at night, 
so we remained on our steamer until the next 
morning, and we were glad it happened thus, be- 
cause from the sea we had a much better view of 



CONSTANTINOPLE. 1 93 

Turkey's proud capital, than if we were within its 
walls. 

The next morning we put foot on Euro- 
pean soil. Here the custom officials did not in- 
terfere with our luggage, our guide having paid 
them a little, which made it all right. After we 
had landed in the Golden Horn, Constantinople's 
harbor, we were taken in carriages to Hotel 
Byzantine, a very roomy and elegant hotel. Con- 
stantinople is situated upon a triangular peninsula 
of the Europoan shore. With all its suburbs it 
has about 1,000,000 inhabitants, the majority of 
which are Mussuluien. Constantinople, just at 
the junction of the Black and Mediterranean Seas 
is a great place for commerce ; vessels of almost 
all nations lie in its harbors. The city is situated 
on hills, surrounded with villas; looked at from a 
distance, especially from the Sea of Marmora, it 
has, I may say, the finest harbor of any city 
I have seen ; but when we find ourselves in the 
interior we are disappointed, like with all oriental 
cities. The streets, especially in the old city 
proper, are narrow, crooked and exceedingly dirty, 
and so irregular, that a stranger can hardly find 
his way through, in fact, it is almost impossible ; 
as a general thing they have no names, are badly 

14 



1 94 CONSTANTINOPLE. 

paved, and not lighted at night. Besides this 
there are thousands of ownerless dogs lying in 
the streets, which makes it very dismal especially 
at nighttime. With the sultan's residence are 
connected several more buildings, making it a 
small city of itself. Constantinople has about 500 
mosques or prayer houses, and nearly 200 hos- 
pitals, in which provision is made also for Chris- 
tians. For popular education there is not much 
done as yet. They have gas in some streets, and 
telegraphic connection especially with London. 
Communication with Scutari, situated on the 
Asiatic shore, is kept up with an immense number 
of kaiks (small boats). In its suburbs and in 
some streets of the city street railroads are op- 
erated. 

THE TURKISH RAMADAN. 

As soon as we came in sight of Constantinople 
there were several cannons discharged, it being 
about sunset. So we asked some of the officers 
on our steamer what that meant ; they told us 
that the Turks celebrated their Ramadan (a 
month's fast). The regulations for fasting are 
very strict with the eastern Christians, especially 
with Armenians and Greeks. Mohammed ap- 



CONSTANTINOPLE. 1 95 

pointed the ninth month of the Turkish year, as 
a four weeks' fast, which exists therein that no 
Mussulman is allowed to eat, drink or smoke 
from sunrise till sunset ; the sick, weak and old 
are excepted; even these, although not bound by 
the regulation, observe it to some extent, for Mo- 
hammed considered fasting as the entrance to 
religion. The Koran was, according to them, re- 
vealed in this month, therefore it has been chosen 
by them as their month of fast. It is astonishing 
to see how strict the hard-laboring Turks observe 
the ordinance, so that in the greatest heat they 
will not even drink a dip of water. In the even- 
ing every Mussulman awaits with the greatest 
aspiration the setting of the sun. Sometimes, 
before the sun sets they hold eatables in their 
hands and watch till the sun disappears, and 
the cannon is discharged, which is a signal for 
them, that now the fast is over for that day ; be- 
fore that it is considered a forbidden fruit- But 
then they eat and drink until a late hour at 
night, and make up for lost time. When the sun 
rises the next morning their fasting begins again, 
and so on it continues for a month. This is 
called the Turkish Ramadan. 



196 



CONSTANTINOPLE. 



THE DOGS. 

A peculiar feature of Constantinople is its 
dogs, said to number 30,000. They are owner- 
less and rank next to the people in numbers. In 
all streets we meet a great number of large yellow 
dogs, which are lying and sleeping on the streets 
the greater part of the day. The Mussulman has 
great S}^mpathy for the dog. The Koran pre- 
scribes to show great love even to the animals. 
They are partly looked upon by them as bringing 
them great luck, and partly because Mohammed 
led a great many dogs through the entrance of 
the sacred Romany. It is an unquestioned fact 
that they keep the streets clean, by eating the ex- 
crement which is all thrown on the streets by the 
Orientals in that hot country. Although the 
Turks have, as said, a great veneration for the 
dogs especially, nevertheless none of them are 
allowed to be seen in the houses, consequently 
they are all ownerless. They are by no means 
good looking. They bear great similarity to the 
wolf and the fox, and are very poor and miser- 
able looking. If you meet a dog on the streets 
you are not allowed to molest him, but must walk 
around him ; even policemen leave them unmo- 



CONSTANTINOPLE. 1 97 

lested and walk around them. Very many are 
seen with one ear bit off, with only one eye, 
bruised neck, or hopping along on two or three 
legs. They form, as it were, a kind of a republic, 
and are divided into certain districts or precincts, 
having watches and guides, who diligently watch 
over the districts which they have once joined. 
Woe to the dog who tries to leave one district for 
another, without sufficient authority as it were ; 
he is at once persecuted by the whole gang, and, if 
he is slow in departing, is killed by them. This 
persecution causes a very disagreeable noise at 
night. These dogs are also very often trampled 
upon by horses coming along the streets, or are 
run over by wagons since they do not move for 
anything. 

CHURCH OF ST. SOPHIA. 

The most renowned mosque of Constantinople 
is without doubt the great Hagia Sofia, which 
was formerly a Catholic Church, in which several 
of her Councils were held. The Second General 
Council was held here A. D. 381, at which 150 
bishops were present against the Arians. Then 
the Fifth General Council, to condemn the three 
chapters as they are known in the History of the 



1 98 CONSTANTINOPLE. 

Church, v. g.\ (1) the person and writings of The- 
odore ; (2) Theodoret's writings, in as far as the 
Nestorians were favored in them ; (3) the letter 
of Ibas, which censured the Council of Ephesus. 

Constantine was the founder of the Hagia 
Sofia. In 1453 it was changed into a mosque. 
It is built of brick, lined with the most beautiful 
colored marble ; the ground plan is 350 feet long, 
and about 240 feet wide The imposing dome is 
no feet in diameter, from below 7 and up to the 
cupola 180 feet. The whole ceiling and its arches 
are inlaid and worked with splendid mosaic work 
and gilt. It has a gallery w T hich is fifty feet 
wide, supported by sixty six columns, some of 
which, as is supposed, are from the temple of 
Diana, at Ephesus, the others of green jaspar. It 
is the grandest mosque we had seen so far. 

THE BAZAARS. 

Another peculiar feature of Constantinople, 
if not one of the most remarkable, and one well 
worth seeing, are its bazaars, which constitute a 
small city for themselves. The bazaars, or mar- 
ket halls, are large fire-proof buildings, lighted 
from above. The " Great Bazaar" is especially 
noteworthy. This immense building is a laby- 



CONSTANTINOPLE. 1 99 

rinth of streets, lanes and alleys, in which hun- 
dreds of tradesmen sell their wares, and enclo- 
sing several covered streets. Each street has a 
special bazaar, each being occupied by a different 
trade. All concentrate in the principal bazaar, 
the walls and ceiling of which are decorated with 
variegated arabesques. The "Grand Bazaar" is a 
kind of resort for people during the hot summer 
days. It somewhat resembles a subterranean 
city, which, on account of the dim light it re- 
ceives from above, is veiled, as it were, in a con- 
stant semi-opaque. This is very conducible, as 
they can sell their goods even though they be 
somewhat damaged. In these half dark lanes or 
alleys we notice swarms of buyers, venders, 
guides, thieves and loiterers. Here we can see 
a wagon pass, there a horseman ; here loaded 
camels enter, and between all this is the deafening 
noise of the salesmen, especially of the Greeks 
and Jews, who molest every stranger who passes 
by, by trying to sell him goods, one praising his 
goods more than another ; one tries to pull you 
here, the other there, into his stoop, or store, re- 
ducing his price as you go on. From one side 
you receive an invitation from an Italian ; from 
the opposite side you hear the Frenchman, the 



200 



CONSTANTINOPLE. 



Greek, the Turk, the Arabian, the German or the 
English, It is a veritable Babel, in which your 
purse, if ever so well filled, almost suffers ship- 
wreck, for the exposed thousandfold, most hand- 
some and costly goods, are so inducive, that you 
are inclined and actually buy these articles for 
souvenirs. 

In these bazaars a person can easily spend a 
whole day without getting tired or lonesome. 
Some of the veiled women inspect jewelry for 
hours before they find or know what they want, 
or we see them engaged in interesting conversa- 
tion. 

All the various goods, from Orient and Occi- 
dent, are here exposed in hundreds of different 
shapes ; you see the most splendid and costly 
goods and cloths in brokade, silk, linen, etc. ; the 
most costly carpets from Smyrna and other cities 
and countries, the whole of which forms the 
most singular contrast imaginable. In some 
stores or shops we can see the finest display of 
Oriental slippers and Turkish pipes, called *'Nar- 
gile. In short, the bazaars are a most wonderful 
market. 



CONSTANTINOPLE . 



20I 



THE SULTAN'S DRIVE TO THE MOSQUE. 

Every Friday afternoon, the sultan drives to 
the mosque, not only for the performance of the 
prescribed prayers, but more especially to show 
himself to the people on this occasion ; to let 
them know that he is still alive, for it is a well- 
known fact, that through the manifold conspira- 
cies, many sultans have been killed in a most 
cruel manner; even the present sultan's pre' 
decessor was thus killed. From this duty no sul- 
tan can exempt himself. The present sultan, 
Abdul Hamed II., thus went to one of the mos- 
ques the Friday we were in Constantinople. Be- 
tween twelve and one o'clock P. M., we went to 
the principal street where he was to pass, to ob- 
serve the whole performance. Within an hour 
the street became so thronged with spectators, 
as to make it both unpleasant and fatiguing to the 
pedestrians. Every available portico and window 
was crowded to its utmost capacity b}^ people, 
anxious to witness the passing of His Royal 
Highness. A regiment of 900 soldiers had been 
formed into platoons on each side of the thor- 
oughfare, where the sultan was to pass. All 
along, the buildings were decorated with Mo- 



202 



CONSTANTINOPLE. 



hammedan flags. On the day previous, the street 
had been covered with a layer of sand about four 
inches deep, over which the procession was to 
pass. At the head of the grand procession came 
several potentates from other cities and countries, 
last came the sultan in a carriage, drawn by four 
magnificient white Arabian steeds, at full speed. 

Shortly before the sultan arrives at the 
mosque, a Muezzin ascends the gallery of the min- 
aret, (a slender, lofty turret, on the mosque of 
Mohammedan countries, rising by different stages 
or stories and surrounded by one or more pro- 
jecting balconies, from which the people are sum- 
moned to prayer) and sings with a loud voice 
which may be heard at some distance. The fol- 
lowing are the words used in this song-prayer : 
"God is very great, I confess that Mohammed is 
the messenger of God ! Come to prayer ! God is 
great; there is no God, but God!" As the sul- 
tan is now in the act of ascending the stairs lead- 
ing to the mosque the Turks all shout: "Padisha 
toe ho k jasha ! " (That is : Long live the Padisha !) 
in the meantime, the sultan throws a glance at 
the people, saluting them in Turkish manner, 
by pointing his right hand to his forehead and 
heart. If an inferior of the turks salutes his sup- 



CONSTANTINOPLE. 203 

perior, he, besides pointing to his head and heart, 
also points at his feet, whilst saying: u Salem 
aleikum !" (Peace be with you!) 

This imposing ceremony is indeed very ingen- 
ious, signifying : I am from head to feet thy 
friend and that with all my heart. After the sul- 
tan has performed his prayers, he returns to his 
carriage and proceeds home. The show being 
over, the crowd disperses. 

THE MOHAMMEDANS. 

Having entered so many mosques, or Moham- 
medan prayer houses and having seen them pray 
and perform their religious exercises, I think a 
few words on this subject may be in order. The 
religion is called Islem, meaning : full submission 
to God. Themselves, they call Moslems, — people 
of the Islem. Mohammed considered himself as 
a restorer of the religion God revealed to Abra- 
ham. He considered himself also as being sent 
by God, to induce his countrymen not to worship 
idols, but to worship his religion. The Jews 
were to adopt his new and final religion, which 
they were to embrace instead of the laws of Mo- 
ses. The christians should not worship Christ 
as God. His teachings and laws were collected 



204 CONSTANTINOPLE. 

into his Koran (the sacred book of the Moham- 
medans, the chief authority in matters of faith, 
military or politics. It consists of fourteen chap- 
ters ) The Mohammedans furthermore recognize 
the tradition which they trace to his companions, 
his wife and the first caliphs The principal pro- 
fession of faith of the Moslem is: There is but 
one God, and Mohammed is His prophet or 
apostle. They regard Christ only second to Mo- 
hammed. Those who blaspheme his name, are 
punished by death. They do not consider him 
as the Son of God, though his birth is considered 
as miraculous They believe that he was taken 
to heaven, but another person suffered for him ; 
they deny his crucifixion. 

Their religion consists of the following four 
rules: (i) Purification and prayer ; (2) almsgiv- 
ing ; (3) fasting ; (4) the pilgrimage to Mecca. 
Before prayer they wash. The Moslems pray 
soon after sunset, at nightfall, at day break, and 
in the afternoon. Five times a day they are 
called to prayer by the Muezzins, from the mina- 
rets of the mosques. While praying they must 
hold their face towards Mecca. Every mosque 
has a niche in the wall nearest to Mecca. All 



CONSTANTINOPLE. 205 

Moslems should make a pilgrimage to Mecca at 
least once during life. 

THE DERVISHES. 

In Constantinople we also saw a great many 
derwishes, in fact it was the only place where we 
saw them. Dervish, or Dervise signifies poor; 
they are only seen in Mohammedan cities or 
countries, and are a kind of monks. There are 
several classes or orders of dervishes. They 
usually live in monasteries, although some of 
them live with their families in villages. They 
are forbidden to beg, their law obliging them to 
support themselves by labor. All are allowed to 
marry and live outside the convents, but must 
live in the monastery two nights each week. 
According to their religious rules they must 
mortify their flesh, pray and dance. They hold 
their religious meetings Tuesdays and Fridays, 
and observe the Ramadan very strictly. They 
wear coarse robes and go bare-legged. 

The Order of the Mevlevis, who are the most 
numerous, are not allowed to marry, and must 
live in the monasteries. They are also known as 
" Whirling Dervishes." They have fantastic 



206 



THE BOSPORUS. 



dances, in which they whirl around very rapidly 
to the sound of a flute ; when the music ceases 
they stop at once or dance until they drop from 
exhaustion. Mevlevi was their founder, in mem- 
ory of whom they dance. While, as they say, 
his companion Hamza, played the flute, he, being 
without food, turned around miraculously for 
four days. 

Then there are the " Howling Dervishes," 
who sway their bodies backward and forward 
until their mouths foam and they fall to the 
ground, in the meantime pronouncing the name 
of Allah (God). 

THE BOSPORUS. 

The Bosporus is the channel which joins the 
Black Sea and the Sea of Marmora, between 
Europe and Asiatic Turkey. It is so narrow that 
an ox can swim across. It is about fifteen miles 
long and two miles wide, and where it is the nar- 
rowest it is about half a mile wide. We took a 
boat ride on this strait one afternoon, up to the 
Black Sea. Along the sides of the channel there 
are beautiful castles and ancient ruins as well as 
splendid buildings of the present day. According 



ATHENS, GREECE. 207 

to tradition the channel or strait was formed by 
the bursting of the barriers of the Black Sea. 

ATHENS, GREECE. 

After having spent about eight days in Con- 
stantinople, we left Monday, May the 20th, at half 
past five o'clock in the evening, and took a 
steamer for Athens. The next morning about 
six o'clock a cannon was discharged on our 
steamer as a salute to some soldiers, who were in 
a small city on an island. 

Wednesday morning, May 22d, at five o'clock, 
we arrived at Pireus, the seaport of Athens, which 
has a population of about 1 5,000. Here we took 
carriages for Athens, which is five miles distant 
from Pireus. The distance from Constantinople 
to Athens is about 380 miles. 

Athens is at present the capital of the King- 
dom of Greece. It has 110,000 inhabitants. The 
present City of Athens is very pretty, some of 
its principal streets being over 100 feet wide. 
The principal houses, and in fact, nearly all 
houses, are built of white, intermixed with a kind 
of sand color stone. The principal houses are 
only about fifty years old. There is quite a con- 



208 



ATHENS, GRKKCK. 



trast between the Oriental cities and streets, and 
those of Athens. In the Royal Palace of King 
George, there are three different chaplains : the 
kind has a Lutheran, the queen a Russian, and 
the children a Greek chaplain. The present 
archbishop of Athens is the first bishop Athens 
has had for 300 years. When His Grace was 
asked by us, what he thought of the Jews and 
Schismatic Greeks, and about their conversion, 
he answered that he is of the opinion that 
the Jews would be converted fifteen minutes 
before the last judgment, and the Greeks five 
minutes after the last judgment. 

THE THEATRE OF DIONYSUS. 

We then went to see the Theatre of Dionysus, 
which we reached at the level of the broad pas- 
sage encircling it. Above, to the right, rise the 
columns, which once bore triumphal tripods; be- 
low is a grotto, now dedicated to "Our I^ady of 
the Golden Grotto," whence the remains of the 
choragic monument of Thrasyllus, destroyed by 
a bombardment in 1827, are invisible. The rows 
of seats are only preserved in the lower part of 
the theater, which was excavated in 1862, The 
most interesting is the lowest tier, which was the 



ATHENS, GREECE. 209. 

priest's, constructed of marble, and with the seat 
for the priest of Dion} r sus in the middle. After 
having been long contented to employ wooden 
scaffoldings, the Athenians founded a stone the- 
atre in the year 500 B. C, but it remained un- 
finished till the time of L,ycur^us. The stage, 
with the semi-circular orchestra in front of it, was 
the portion chiefly altered, so that little probably 
now remains of that, on which Eschylus and 
Sophocles exhibited their dramas. The theatre 
is divided into thirteen sections, one for each of 
the thirteen " Phylae " or tribes, and was capable 
of holding upwards of 30,000 spectators. The 
wall of the stage is adorned with good reliefs and 
stooping Sileni as supporters. The theatre lies 
in the sacred district of Dionysus, to whose tem- 
ple the foundations at the back of the stage prob- 
ably belonged. Here, too, stands the circular 
altar of Dionysus, which was formerly in the 
orchestra. To the west of the theatre are two 
terraces, extending along the south side of the 
Acropolis, both of which were excavated a few 
years ago. On the upper one stood the Asklep- 
ieum or sanctuary of Esculapius, afterwards con- 
verted into a Christian church, and now almost 
entirely destroyed. The reliefs and sculptures 

15 



2IO 



ATHENS, GREECE. 



found here are preserved in the hut to the left, in 
the exterior court of the Acropolis. On the lower 
terrace was situated the Stoa, which extended to 
the " Odeum of Herodes Atticus." About half 
way up to the left of the path, is situated the 
Areopagus, a rugged mass of rock which still re- 
tains its ancient name. The sixteen steps found 
here, are those which the judges of the Areopagus, 
the highest judicial tribunal at Athens ascended to 
their nocturnal sessions. The two spaces on the 
summit afforded the sole and somewhat limited 
accomodation for judges, prosecutors and defend- 
ants. From here a fair view is had over the city 
and the plain. In the profound and gloomy ra- 
vines, at the base of the abrupt precipice, on the 
north, was situated the shrine of the Erinnyses. 
This was probably the spot on which St. Paul 
stood when preaching to the Athenians. 

THE ACROPOLIS. 

Passing round the wall which supports the 
Temple of Nike, we stood before the Propylaea, 
the grand entrance to the Acropolis, with its 
numerous temples called " a votive offering to 
the gods." The ancient city was built round a 
central rocky height, called Acropolis, which was 



ATHENS, GREECE. 



211 



eievated about 320 feet above the level of the 
city, and 600 feet above the Mediterranean Sea. 
We all ascended the Acropolis. The Pelagians, 
the traditional aboriginal inhabitants of Attica, 
are said to have leveled the upper part of the 
rock and rendered its sides more precipitous by 
artificial means, while they protected the only ac- 
cessible entrance on the west side by an outwork 
with nine gates. The castle then became the 
residence of the kings of Athens; justice was ad- 
ministered at the gates of their palace, and the 
principal temples were in the vicinity. The 
courts of judicature and public offices were after- 
wards transferred to the lower part of the city, 
while the castle remained sacred to the gods. 
There was erected at the side of the Parthenon a 
temple of Athens, called Hekatompedos or " the 
hundred-footed," so named on account of its vast 
dimensions. There was also a more magnificent 
entrance to the Acropolis erected, both of which 
were however destroyed by the Persians in 4807. 
Pericles, however, conceived the idea of restoring 
the temples of the gods, to whom Greece appar- 
ently owed her preservation, and to erect imperish- 
able memorials of the glory of Athens. According- 
ly, in 448, vast building operations were commenced 



212 



ATHENS, GREECE. 



on the Acropolis. Within the short space of ten 
years the Parthenon was completed and the 
Propylaea were erected. These structures were 
a marvel of architectural talent, and stood almost 
uninjured till the eighteenth century. 

The highest point of the plateau (500 feet 
above the level of the sea ; 360 yards long and 
180 yards wide) was occupied by the Parthenon, 
t. e., the Temple of the Virgin Athene, and it con- 
tinued to be sacred to that goddess until the sixth 
century of our era. It was then converted into a 
church dedicated to the virgin, and in 1205 was 
made the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Church 
of Athens by the Franks. 

In 1459 the Parthenon became a Turkish 
mosque ; after the unfortunate explosion, caused 
by the Venetians in 1687, a smaller mosque was 
erected among the ruins. The Parthenon was 
discovered in this condition by an English Am- 
bassador, in 1 80 1, who caused a considerable 
portion of the frieze, and the best statues to be 
carried off. The fragments that now remain are 
still the greatest ornament of the Acropolis. 

The Propylaea, which was erected within five 
years, consisted of a vast arched entrance-gateway, 
with two unequal wings, a masterpiece of inven- 



ATHENS, GREECE. 2IJ 

live talent and perfect workmanship, and regarded 
by the ancients as the gem of the Acropolis, 
superior even to the Parthenon itself. 

The Erechtheum, the third important ruin of 
the Acropolis, comprised within its ample precincts 
the most ancient and venerable . shrines of Athens. 
Here Pallas Athene, the goddess of Athens, and 
her first priestess Pandrosus, were revered ; here, 
too, were the sacred olive trees planted by 
Athene. The structure was partially restored 
after its destruction by the Persians. The deli- 
cacy of the Ionic columns and the ornamentation 
is admirably in keeping with the moderate pro- 
portions of the edifice. It was converted into a 
church at the same period as the Parthenon. 
From the 13th to the 15th century it was the res- 
idence of the Franconian dukes, and after that it 
was occupied by the harem of the Pasha. 

THE OEYMPIEUM. 

South-east of the Acropolis was the Olym- 
pieum, the largest, and as it seems, the most mag- 
nificent temple of Athens. Its construction with 
some intervals required a period of 700 years. It 
was 355 feet long, 175 feet wide, and very high, 
being surrounded by 160 columns, sixteen of 



214 ATHENS, GRKKCK. 

which can be seen to this day ; they are five feet 
in diameter and more than sixty feet high. 

THE THESEUS. 

This temple is the best preserved monument, 
which gives us, I may say, the best idea of the 
splendor of ancient Athens. It was built of 
Pentelic marble, being 105 feet long and forty-six 
feet wide. The sides were adorned with exquisite 
sculptures, some of which can still be seen, al- 
though they are considerably injured ; many were 
painted, as were also portions of the building rep- 
resenting incidents from the life of Theseus, son 
of Egeus, King of Athens. This Egeus is said 
to have united the twelve cities, into which Attica 
was formerly divided, into one political body. 

THE PROPYIyAEA. 

This structure consisted of three portions : the 
central gateway, and the two colonnades, situated 
towards the west and east in front of the wall 
containing the gates themselves. Above each of 
these and on both sides arose pediments, and 
each was borne by six Doric columns, thirty- 
one feet high and four feet thick, the intercolum- 
niation, where the road passed through, being four- 



ATHENS, GREECE. 215 

teen feet in width, whilst the other columns were 
about seven feet apart. The depth of the west 
portico, rising boldly on a basement of four steps, 
on the slope of the hill, was forty-five feet, and it 
was supported by two rows of slender Ionic 
columns, three in each, thirty-six feet high and 
three feet thick. Fragments of the capitals still 
lie in the colonnade ; the wall with the five steps 
higher, the highest of which consists of bluish 
Eleusinian marble. The auadrangular apertures 
were formerly surrounded with rich decorations. 
The six columns of the east colonnade were an- 
other step higher, and twenty-three feet distant from 
the wall with the gates. The huge stone beams 
which spanned this wide space, as well as those 
which extended from the north and south walls 
of the west portico to the Ionic columns, are 
among the largest hewn stones in existence, and 
were universally admired by the ancients. Even 
this approach to the Acropolis was profusely 
adorned with statues and reliefs, to which the 
three draped Graces, executed by Socrates, and 
the Hermes Propylaeus belong. Architectural 
relics, inscriptions, and fragments of statues now 
lie here in confusion. The two wings of the 
Propylaea project twenty-six feet towards the 



; 2l6 



ATHENS, QREECE. 



west. In front of the north wing is a portico 
thirteen feet in depth, surrounded by the columns 
between the " antae " i. e., the columns immured 
in the bounding walls. Beyond this is a qua- 
drangular space thirty-seven feet in depth, lighted 
by windows above, and called the Pinacotheca, 
from having been used as a gallery for pictures 
by celebrated masters. The edifice, as far as the 
frieze, as well as its substructure, is admirably 
preserved ; but the roof was destroyed in the Mid- 
dle Ages when one story was added. Among the 
numerous relics preserved here, the most inter- 
esting are the small reliefs which once adorned 
inscriptions recording the rendering of the ac- 
counts of public officials, and which show us the 
form of the celebrated Statue of Athene in the 
Parthenon, executed in gold and ivory, by 
Phidias. To the west the antae is still preserved, 
and on the marble slabs are traces of a buttress, a 
corner column, and an iron railing between them. 
The wall of polygonal blocks here, is a relic of 
the ancient Pelagic fortress. Passing through 
the Propylaea, we ascend the great slope of the 
Acropolis, now a vast field of ruins, presenting a 
profoundly impressive scene. Here we had an 
imposing view of the Parthenon, rising above all, 



ATHENS, GRKECK. 217 

the charming Erechtheum with its rich sculpture 
and briiliant coloring, and the numerous smaller 
shrines; then the profusion of votive offerings 
and the forest of statues and groups which greeted 
the eye here when the bronze gates of the Pro- 
pylaea were opened to admit the Panathenaean 
procession, in which nearly all the inhabitants of 
Athens took part to carry to the Temple of 
Athene, a crocus-colored garment of the goddess, 
in which were woven representations of her vic- 
torious deeds. This procession is represented in 
the frieze of the Parthenon. The numerous 
square depressions, of various sizes, in the rock, 
all mark the spots where votive offerings w T ere 
placed, while the pedestals, scattered about on 
every side, were once adorned with statues. Thus, 
adjoining the south column of the east colonnade, 
is the basement of a statue of Athene (Athene as 
the goddess of health), to commemorate the mar- 
velous fact that the goddess had appeared to the 
sculptor Pyrrhus in a dream, and prescribed a 
remedy for a favorite slave who had been injured 
during the building of the Propylaea. 



2l8 



ATHENS, GREKCK. 



THE PARTHENON. 

The Parthenon was intended to form the 
crowning feature of the Acropolis, and to have 
this effect also when viewed from below. It is 
therefore situated at the north-east angle, on the 
culminating point of the rocky plateau. On the 
summit of the rock, on the south side, was a vast 
substructure of porous stone, twenty-one feet in 
height, on which the marble "stylobates" (a pillar 
or column), six feet in height arose in three steps. 
The bases of the columns of the Parthenon 
were therefore nearly on a level with the summit 
of the Propylaea. The steps are not perfectly 
horizontal, but slightly convex. The upper sur- 
face 243 feet long and 108 wide, supported by 
eight columns at each extremity, and seventeen 
at each side (the corner columns being counted 
twice), in all, forty-six columns, thirty-six feet 
high and six feet in diameter. In the east por- 
tion, 104 feet long, and sixty-seven feet in width, 
in the Parthenon proper, stood the gold and 
ivory statue of Athene, forty-seven feet in height, 
the most admired work of Phidias. The nude 
portions were of ivory, the rest of the statue, 
and the removable mantle of gold. 



ATHENS, GREECE. 2ig 

The goddess was represented standing, hold- 
ing a spear in her right hand, and on her ex- 
tended left a victory six feet in height ; by her 
left side rested her shield, on which a snake was 
entwined and on her head was a helmet adorned 
with sphinxes. At the sides were two rows of 
Doric columns, three feet thick, there being nine 
in each row. In the west part, which was connec- 
ted with the east portion by two small doors and 
supported by four Ionic columns, the treasury of 
the state was deposited. On the north and south 
side of the Parthenon, the ruins lie in picturesque 
confusion. 

THE ERECHTHEUM. 

To the north of the Parthenon is situated the 
" Erechtheum ", the external form of which is 
still distinctly traceable, but the internal arrange- 
ments have been completely concealed by subse- 
quent alterations. Three vestibules led to the 
interior, which was sixty-six feet long and thirty- 
five feet wide. The variety, exhibited in its 
architecture, was a great charm of this temple. 

The east colonnade, an ordinary pronaos of 
six Ionic columns, twenty-seven feet high and 
two feet in diameter, formed the entrance to the 



220 ATHENS, GREECE. 

temple of Athene ; it contained a sitting figure 
of the goddess, with the eternal lamp. 

The north vestibule had four Ionic columns 
in front, laid eight feet deeper than the east col- 
onnade, while its columns measured six inches 
more in diameter and were three feet higher. 
The two peculiar apertures 'below the vestibule, 
are said to have been caused by the trident of 
Poseidon, when he caused the salt-spring to flow 
by striking the rock. The door, which is still 
well-preserved, here led to a passage to the other 
temples, which were lighted by three windows, 
introduced between the Ionic half-columns in the 
west wall. The small door farther west in the 
same colonnade, led to the sacred precincts of 
the goddess, which extended towards the north- 
west as far as the entrance to the so-called u Ag- 
rauhis Gj'otto" on the north wall of the Acropolis. 
The Persians are said to have gained access by 
this entrance to the ill-defended stronghold. 
At a subsequent period the priestess of Athene 
decended by this door to the shrine of Agraulus 
which was below. The south portico is called 
the "Hall of the Caryatides." The figures sup- 
porting the beams were simply termed "maidens" 
by the Athenians. 



ATHENS, GREECE. 221 

The statues, somewhat exceeding life-size 
stand on pedestals, eight feet in height, and bear 
on their heads ornaments, resembling capitals. 

The external wall of the temple was adorned 
with frieze, representing figures of white marble 
on a ground of Eleusinian stone, above which 
ran a beautiful cornice of palm leaves. 

THE COSTUMES OF GREECE. 

Costumes in great variety render walking in 
the streets of Athens very entertaining to the 
stranger. 

The national Greek, or rather, Albanian cos- 
tume, consists of a high fez, with long, blue tas- 
sel ; a blue or led jacket, with open sleeves and 
richly embroidered ; a vest of similar description ; 
shirt, with wide and flowing sleeves ; a leather 
belt, with a pouch for weapons ; the white ftcsta- 
nella, short breeches ; red gaiters, and pointed 
red shoes. 

The inhabitants of the islands wear a different 
costume, which is of a Turkish origin ; high fez, 
worn upright; short dark-colored jacket; red 
vest, and short, wide trousers of dark green or 



222 ATHENS, GREECE. 

blue calico ; legs sometimes bare, and shoes with 
buckles. 

The Cretan costume is similar, but high boots 
are worn instead of shoes. In cold or wet wea- 
ther a cloak, with a hood made of goats' hair, is 
worn by all classes. 

The women generally wear French clothing, 
but sometimes adorn their heads with a fez, with 
a gold tassel. The Albanian peasant women 
alone still retain their national costume, consist- 
ing of along petticoat, embroidered on the sleeves 
and skirt, with a short, white woolen dress above 
it ; they adorn their hair and necks with chains 
of coins, strung together. 

During our stay at Athens we also visited the 
ruins of the Temple of Jupiter, of which a few 
massive columns, about sixty feet high and four 
feet in diameter, are still standing, while others, 
yet well preserved, are lying on the ground. We 
saw also the Theatre of Bacchus. 



GULF OF CORINTH, OR LEPANTO. 223 

THE GULF OF CORINTH, OR 
LEPANTO. 

We left Athens May the 23d by rail for 
Corinth and Patras. About midwaj^s from 
Athens to Patras is Corinth. There is nothing 
left of this once renowned city. 

There is a canal being made between the 
Gulf of Athens and the Gulf of Corinth, so that 
from the Gulf of Athens the steamers can go 
through the canal, on through the Gulf of Corinth, 
or Lepanto, and on to Brindisi, Italy. We saw 
them work at the canal. At present steamers 
must go around from Pireus to Patras, which 
requires several days. 

After we had passed Corinth, we had the Gulf 
of Corinth, or Lepanto, to our right, where the 
battle of Lepanto took place, and, strange to say, 
as we passed along the gulf (afternoon of May 
23d, between three and five o'clock) we recited 
our Vespers of the Feast of Auxilium Christian- 
orum, as the battle was fought on this gulf. 

Lepanto, is a seaport of Greece, on the north 
coast of the gulf of the same name, twelve miles 
north by east of Patras, and it has a population 



224 GUIvF OF IyORINTH, OR I^E PANTO. 

of about 4,000. In the Middle Ages I,epanto 
was for a long while in possession of the Vene- 
tians, who fortified it and sustained a siege by 
the Turks in 1477, lasting four months, and during 
which the besiegers lost 30,000 men. 

The Gulf of Lepanto, also called Gulf of Cor- 
inth, is between the north coast of the Morea and 
the mainland of Greece, and is about seventy-five 
miles long from east to west. The Gulf of Patras 
at its west end is connected with it by a strait 
more than one mile in width, called the Strait of 
Lepanto, or Little Dardanelles. In the middle 
the Gulf of Lepanto is about sixteen miles wide, 
and it is surrounded by picturesque mountains. 
There was a most important battle fought here. 
In 1 57 1 there was a war between the Turkish 
Sultan Selim II. and Philip II., King of Spain, 
Pope Pius V. and the Republic of Venice. The 
three Christian powers fitted out a great army 
under the command of Don John, of Austria. 
The armies met at Messina, in Sicily, consisting 
of 300 vessels of large size, 50,000 seamen, 20,000 
Spanish and 9,000 v Italian soldiers. They sailed 
from Messina September 16th and reached the 
entrance of the gulf October 7, 1571, where they 
came in sight of the Turkish fleet, who had 250 



GUIyF OF LORINTH, OR LEPANTO. 225 

royal galleys of very large size, and a great many 
small vessels,containing in all 120,000 men. The 
Christian fleet was three miles long. The right 
wing was commanded by Doria, a Genoese ad- 
miral ; the left wing was commanded by a Vene- 
tian admiral, and the centre by Don John person- 
ally, who was assisted on the one side by the Papal 
captain-general, and on the other by a Venetian 
general. Previous to the battle, Don John rapidly 
passed through the fleet, saying to his men: "You 
have come to fight the battle of the Cross — to 
conquer or to die. But whether you are to die 
or conquer, do your duty this day, and you will 
secure a glorious immortality." The battle re- 
sulted in the total defeat of the Turks, of whose 
fleet 130 galleys were taken and eighty burnt and 
sunk. They lost about 30,000 men, of whom 5,000 
were taken prisoners. This victory astonished 
whole Christendom, as it was one, won over the 
Turks, who, before this battle, were considered 
invincible at sea. When the Pope heard of this 
victory he burst into tears, and said : " There was 
a man sent by God, whose name was John." The 
Turks, upon this defeat, were entirely disheart- 
ened. 

We arrived at Patras about seven o'clock the 

16 



226 



BRINDISI. 



same evening and ate supper, after which we took 
the steamer across the Adriatic Sea to Brindisi, 
Italy, passing the Island of Corfu during the 
night. 

BRINDISI. 

We arrived at Brindisi Saturday morning 
at two o'clock. As soon as we had landed we 
had to go through the custom house. This being 
Italy again they were more strict than in any 
other country ; even on things we had bought in 
Italy on our way to Palestine, we now, on our 
return, had to pay duty again. When we told 
them that we had bought these things in Italy 
they said to us : "We don't believe it." These 
officials wanted Rt. Rev. Bishop Rademacher to 
pay three francs and a half for his cassock. 

Brindisi is a seaport of Italy, situated at the 
head of a deep and sheltered harbor of the Adri- 
atic Sea. It has a population of about 16,000. 
There is here comparatively little of interest to 
the traveler. It has a strong and well-located 
fortress, with strong towers. Its cathedral, a 
Norman structure, has been much injured by 
earthquakes. 



I.ORETO. 227 

The prosperity of Brindisi has greatly in- 
creased since the completion of the railway along 
the eastern coast from Northern Italy. It now 
has connection with all railways of the continent ; 
the mail steamers to the East also embark from 
here. 

In the afternoon at five o'clock we took the 
train for Loreto. 

LORETO. 

The next morning, Sunday, May 26th, at five 
o'clock, we arrived at Loreto. It was not in our 
program to stop at Loreto, but a few days previous 
we told our guide we would like to stop off a day 
at Loreto, and so he made arrangements and left 
us off. Here Monsignor Staniero, from Rome, 
came to meet us again. Having arrived at the 
station of the same name, we took carriages and 
drove up about a mile and a half to the little 
town of Loreto, situated on a hill. 

Loreto is three miles from the Adriatic and 
twelve miles south of Ancona. Its population 
numbers about 15,000. It is renowned as the 
site of the celebrated sanctuary of the Blessed 
Virgin Mary, called Casa Santa, or Holy House, 



228 



IX>RKTO. 



in which the annunciation and incarnation took 
place, and in which the Holy Family dwelt at 
Nazareth upon their return from Egypt. May 10, 
1 29 1 ,this Holy House was miraculously transported 
by angels from Nazareth to Teraste, Dalmatia, on 
the east coast of the Adriatic, whence, the 10th of 
December, 1294, it was carried to the coast of 
Italy to Recanati, and finally to Loreto on the lands 
of a lady named Lauretta, from whom the town 
took its name, and where it is now held in great 
veneration. The Casa Santa is a rudely built 
stone house, the walls inside being put up like 
a well is walled up, not plastered, cemented or 
white-washed. The house is about thirteen feet 
high, twenty-seven feet long and twelve feet wide, 
with one door. In a niche over the fire-place is a 
statue of the Blessed Virgin, attributed to St. 
Luke. On February 10, 1797, the French car- 
ried this statue to Paris, but Napoleon returned 
it to Pius VII. This pope enriched it with pre- 
cious stones and sent it back to I^oreto on Decem- 
ber 9, 1802. The Holy House contains a great 
many relics and treasures. The outside of it is 
covered with exquisite sculptures in relief. Be- 
neath the high altar is a stone, on which the 
apostles are said to have celebrated Mass. There 



I.ORETO. 



229 



is a beautiful altar inside the Holy House, on 
which the most of our priests, including myself, 
said Mass; then there is an altar outside, but 
against the wall of the Holy House, on which 
the remainder of the priests said Mass, who did 
not wish to wait until they could all say Mass in- 
side the House, as it would have made it 
very late for the last ones. A vessel was also 
shown to us in the Holy House, out of which, 
according to tradition, the Holy Family should 
have eaten. The Bishop of Loreto held it in his 
hand, placed our religious articles therein and 
blessed them. On the top of the Holy House 
there is also a small bell, with which, for the first 
time, the Angelus was rung. Rt. Rev. Bishop 
Rademacher asked the Bishop of Loreto to be 
kind enough and have it rung for us pilgrims, 
and he did so. The Litany of the Blessed Virgin, 
called the Lauretan Litany, originated here. 

We left Loreto Sunday evening at five o'clock 
and took the train for Venice. 



230 



VENICE. 



VENICE. 

We arrived at Venice Monday morning at five 
o'clock. From Brindisi to Venice we traveled 
two nights in succession, without sleeping five 
minutes. As soon as we landed we were taken 
to our hotel in gondolas (a flat-bottomed pleasure 
boat, very long and narrow,used on the canals in 
Venice). 

Venice is the capital of the province, and is 
situated on the Gulf of Venice ; thus the north- 
western part of the Adriatic is called, which is 
156 miles east of Milan and 250 miles north by 
west of Rome. It has a population of about 
140,000. It is located in the midst of lagoons 
(a marsh, shallow pond or lake, especially one into 
which the sea flows), originally formed by the re- 
treating of the sea. In Venice there are over 
one hundred canals. Communication is further 
kept up by small streets, lanes, alleys and courts, 
which are nearly all poorly paved, and by 400 
bridges. There is a viaduct at Venice about two 
miles long, which has more than 200 arches, and 
which connects Venice with the principal rail- 
ways at the junction of Mestre. 



VENICE. 231 

The city is divided into two unequal parts by 
the Canalazzo, or Grand Canal, which is spanned 
by two iron bridges. Along the Grand Canal 
are more than 4,000 magnificent buildings, erected 
along the water's edge, and painted black. The 
city from all sides seems to float on w T ater. 

ST. MARK'S SQUARE. 

St. Mark's Square is the most beautiful and 
animated part of Venice ; it is about 580 feet 
long and 270 feet in greatest width. Along here 
are the cathedral, the doge's palace, and other 
magnificent buildings. St. Mark's Church is the 
most important of all churches in Venice. It is 
of Byzantine style, some of its marble pillars 
having been brought from the East. Above the 
principal portal are the celebrated bronze horses, 
brought from Constantinople in 1205 ; Napoleon 
carried them away to Paris in 1797, but in 1815 
restored them to Venice. 

The Cathedral of Venice has five domes, the 
main one being ninety feet, the others eighty feet- 
high. The interior is exceedingly rich, having 
precious marble columns and rich mosaics upon 
a gold ground. 

During our stay at Venice we also inspected 



232 VENICE. 

the famous Bridge of Sighs, which connects the 
palace with the carceri, i. e. public prison. The 
palace of the great judicial dignitaries of the re- 
public fills nearly the whole north side of St. 
Mark's Square ; it stands upon fifty arches and is 
one of the greatest structures of Venice. 

The custom house is also a notable building, 
but most impressive of all, I may say, is the ar- 
senal and dock-yard, situated in the east end of 
the city. Here are docks, a long rope-walk, foun- 
deries and other works ; the whole is surrounded 
by a splendid wall, which is more than three 
miles in circumference, and at the erection of 
which more than 16,000 men were employed. 

At the land entrance are lions of marble, 
which were brought from Greece at the end of 
the 17th century. 

The celebrated vessel, which was annually 
used in the doge's so-called marriage with the 
Adriatic, by throwing a ring into the sea, was de- 
stroyed by the French in the 18th century. 

In Venice, near 1 the cathedral, is also a re- 
markable and high tower, over the dial of which 
are two bronze figures, known as " Moors ", 
which strike the hours on a bell. 

According to tradition, the bones of St. Mark, 



MILAN. 233 

the Apostle, were transferred a. d. 829 from Alex- 
andria to Venice. He was made the Patron Saint 
of the republic, which is often called " Republic 
of St. Mark. 

We left Venice for Milan, Tuesday May the 
28th, at nine o'clock A. M. We were taken to 
the railroad station in gondolas. 

At Mestre Junction, which is connected with 
Venice by a viaduct, two miles long and having 
more than 200 arches, we took the train for 
Milan, 

MILAN. 

Between Venice and Milan the country is 
level and beautiful. 

We arrived at Milan 5 which is 160 miles west 
of Venice, at four o'clock in the afternoon, and 
were then taken to our hotel in street cars. Af- 
ter a short while, I and one more of our pilgrims 
had to go to the custom house ; out of all the 
trunks, the officials had selected ours for exami- 
nation, and the other trunks were immediately 
taken to the hotel. 

Milan is the capital of the province and has a 
population of far over 200,000. It lies south of 



234 MILAN. 

the Alps and is situated in a fertile plain. It is 
one of the most pleasant cities of Europe. The 
city is almost circular. There is a street, called 
Strada di circonvallazione, which encircles the 
city and is more than ten miles in length ; in a 
thoroughfare we rode the whole length of above 
named street. Some of the streets are narrow, 
but generally well-paved. The Piazza Borromeo 
is a fine street, and is adorned with a statue of St. 
Charles Borromeo. The street called Cor si \ which 
leads to the principal gates, is the most fashiona- 
ble. The houses are generally from three to 
five stories high. 

Among the most remarkable buildings of Mi- 
lan are the palace of the government, the palace 
of art, the palace of justice, the palazzo della Cor- 
te, the residence of the king when he visits Milan, 
and the archiepiscopal palace ; but all of these 
are greatly surpassed by the diwmo or cathedral. 

THE CATHEDRAL. 

This cathedral is, next to St. Peter's at Rome, 
the largest church in Italy. It is located on the 
Piazza del Duomo, and almost in the centre of 
the city. It is not yet completed, although the 
main design is carried out. The interior is 



MILAN. 235 

crowded with different monuments of Saints and 
princes. As far as it pertains to carving and 
statuary, this cathedral eclipses all churches in 
the world ; its ornamentation is so profuse, that 
much of the effect is lost. 

The cathedral is more than 500 feet in length ; 
breadth of body, 260 feet, between the walls 
of the transept, 290 feet ; width of nave, from 
centre to centre of the columns, seventy feet, 
which is double the width of the side aisles ; 
height of nave, 165 feet. The interior is divided 
into a nave and four aisles by four ranges of clus- 
tered pillars. It has 100 large pillars, which are 
forty-five feet in circumference and sixteen feet 
in diameter : each is formed of eight shafts, 
eighty feet high, viz. : a base, four feet ; shaft, fif- 
ty-eight feet, and the capital, eighteen feet. The 
diameter of each of the shafts, which support 
the arches of the roof, is eight feet. The win- 
dows of the cathedral are 100 feet high. The 
pavement is laid in mosaic, in red, blue and white 
marble. 

The entire structure is built of white marble, 
the exterior having niches and pinnacles for 4,500 
statues, of which more than 3,400 are now com- 
pleted. The cathedral has twelve altars ; above 



236 MILAN. 

the high altar is one of the true nails with which 
Christ was nailed to the cross ; it is fastened to 
the ceiling for fear of it being stolen. I and sev- 
eral of onr pilgrims went up into one of its high- 
est steeples ; the height of it was more than 400 
feet. 

Beneath the floor, in the basement is a chapel 
and an altar over the remains of St. Charles Bor- 
romeo, who was Bishop of Milan ; his body was 
shown to us. I said Mass on this altar. As the 
Ambrosian Rite is in force here, we, of the L,atin 
Rite could say Mass only on this altar. The 
chalice and the monstrance, which St. Charles 
Borromeo used, were shown to us, as was also 
his ring, his mitre, which Pope Leo XIII. presen- 
ted to this cathedral on his golden jubilee, and a 
vestment and stole, which was presented by Pope 
Pius IX. 

Another of the most remarkable churches of 
Milan is that of St. Ambrose, which we also visi- 
ted. This church is renowned for its antiquity. 
In it Ecclesiastical Councils were held and the 
sovereigns crowned. Here we saw the tomb of 
St. Ambrose and his marble chair. I sat in this 
chair. In the rear of the altar is the choir, and 
the pulpit (or at least where it stood), from 



ST. GOTHARD'S TUNNEL, SWITZERLAND. 237 

whence St. Augustine was converted. I ascended 
this pulpit. The " Te Deum" was composed 
here. 

We left Milan May the 30th at seven o'clock 
in the morning, via Como and the St. Gothard 
Tunnel for Lucerne, Switzerland. 

After we had left Milan about one hour, we 
came to Como, a province of Italy, The prov- 
ince is bounded on the north by Switzerland, and 
on the south by Milan. Como is the capital of 
the province. The city is situated at the south 
end of the Lake of Como twenty-five miles north- 
west of Milan. 

Having left Como, we shortly came to St. 
Gothard's Tunnel ; it took us about twenty min- 
utes to pass through. 



ST. GOTHARD'S TUNNEL, 
SWITZERLAND. 

The boring of this tunnel was begun at Airolo 
and at Goeschenen at the same time, in the 3 r ear 
1870. It is the longest railroad tunnel in the 
world. The St. Gothard's Tunnel is a little more 



238 ST. gothard's tunnel. 

than nine miles in length. In 1882 it was fin- 
ished and formally opened, the first passenger 
train passing through it in fifty minutes. It is 
about twenty-four feet wide and twenty feet high 
and in the main tunnel two tracks are laid. The 
leading idea in constructing it, was to connect 
the North Sea with the Mediteranean Sea, by the 
most direct route and consequently it had to be 
built through the chain of the Alps. It was to 
preserve for Switzerland its share of the traffic 
between North European and Italian ports. En- 
gineers pronounce the St. Gothard Tunnel the 
greatest work executed by man. It was built by 
Switzerland, Italy and Germany. The cost was 
estimated at 180,000,000 francs. France looked 
upon its completion with feelings of envy, as it 
was feared that considerable freight would be lost 
to it from the North Sea to the Mediterranean 
Sea. The tunnel was built by a Swiss company. 

Within a distance of about 125 miles from the 
Lake of Zug to the frontier of Italy, we passed 
through fifty other tunnels. The railroad track 
for nearly half the way is subterranean between 
Brunnen and Fluellen, where it skirts the Lake 
of the Four Cantons. 



LAKE OF THE FOUR FOREST CANTONS. 239 

In the afternoon about four o'clock we came 
to Fluellen from where we took a boat-ride on the 
beautiful Lake of the Four Forest Cantons to 
Luzerne. 

LAKE OF THE FOUR FOREST 
CANTONS. 

This Lake borders on the Cantons of Uri, 
Unterwalden, Schwytz and Lucerne, in conse- 
quence of which it is called Vierwaldstadter See, 
or Lake of the Four Forest Cantons. It branches 
in different directions, its many bays being named 
after the principal places located on them. The 
Lake of Lucerne is its west branch; on the south 
is the Bay of Alpnach, on the north that of Kiiss- 
nacht, and Bucchs stretches east and west, while 
the Bay of Uri forms the south-east end of the 
lake. It is about twenty-five miles long, its 
breadth varying. The scenery along the shore 
is magnificent and romantic. Along its shores, 
at Kussnacht, at the highest point of the neck of 
land which divides the Lakes of Zug and Lucerne, 
is the famous Hohle Gase, or Hollow Lane, with 
Tell's Chapel. It is an unpretentious little edifice 



240 I/UCERNE. 

with a plain portico and a tiny red spire piercing 
the foliage of the surrounding trees. Above the 
door is depicted the death of the tyrant Gessler 
at the hand of Tell, with a simple inscription, re- 
cording the fact. 

LUCERNE. 

About six o'clock the same evening we 
landed at Lucerne, and were taken to Hotel du 
Cygne. After supper we wen t to see the Low en- 
denkmal, a large lion hewed out of the natural 
rock, his side pierced with a dagger, holding with 
his right paw the arms of the country, and repre- 
senting how a few thousand brave Swiss soldiers 
gave their lives in defense of their little beautiful 
and romantic country. 

Lucerne, the capital of the canton, lies at the 
north-west of the Lake Lucerne, twenty-five 
miles south- west of Zurich, ten miles from Mount 
Rigi, and it has a population of about 16,000. 
The little town itself is unpretending enough in 
appearance, but before it stretches the lovely lake 
in its framework of rocky mountains and grassy 
hills, combined in a landscape of rich incompar- 
able harmony that the world never tires of ad- 



LUCERNE. 241 

miring its charms. The greatest part of Lucerne 
(the older portion of the town) lies on the right, 
bank of the River Reuss, upon a narrow strip of 
land, between the water and the heights to the 
north-west. These heights, from the river bank 
to the gap, through which runs the road to 
Zurich, are crowned by a long wall, defended by 
numerous mediaeval towers. On the left bank of 
the river is the lesser town, which extends on one 
side in the direction of the Lake of Alpnacht, but 
is bounded lower down the river by the Reuss 
and precipitous rock, at the foot of, and through 
which the railway line runs. On the right bank 
of the lake stands the principal church of the 
town, the so-called Hofkirche, dedicated to St. 
Leodegar, and surrounded by the quiet dwellings 
of the clergy and the silent resting places of the 
dead Between the older portion of the town and 
the clerical quarter are several palatial hotels, 
commanding superb views of the lake and the 
mountains, and still further out, fringing the 
right bank, is a whole row of stately hostelries, 
while numerous comfortable boarding-houses are 
scattered over the gently sloping hills, which rise 
tier above tier behind the town. The outline of 

17 



242 IyUCKRNK. 

the lake is crossed by a handsome bridge of mod- 
ern construction, affording a magnificent view. 

The next bridge, the Kapellenbrucke, is a very 
curious structure, built of wood and roofed, and 
crossing the river in an oblique direction. Above 
the cross-beams of the roof is a series of quaint 
old paintings, triangular in form, representing 
scenes from the history of the town and the con- 
federacy, legends of martyrs, etc., explained by 
inscriptions and verses still quainter than the pic- 
tures. From this bridge a smaller one leads to 
the ancient octagonal Wasserthurm, or Water 
Tower, rising in the midst of the river ; it was in- 
tended as a defense against a hostile attack from 
the lake-side. 

Two other bridges follow: the much-fre- 
quented Alte Reussbriicke, connecting the busiest 
quarters of the town, and the picturesque Spreuer- 
br ilc ke, which derives its name from the neigh- 
boring mills. 

Here, at Lucerne, we met Rt. Rev. Bishop 
W. M. Wigger, D. D., who on account of having 
taken sick at Rome could not continue the jour- 
ney with us to Palestine. 

The next morning we again took a boat-ride 



MOUNT RIGI. 243 

on the Lake of the Four Forest Cantons, up to 
Vitznau, where we took lunch. 

Vitznau, once so solitary, but now the most fre- 
quented spot on the banks. This quiet Alpine 
village has become one of the busiest tourist sta- 
tions in Europe. Elegant modern buildings have 
risen among the plain, wooden cottages of the 
villagers. This little plot of ground suddenly 
became the scene of a wonderful transformation, 
for here, where the crack of the coachman's whip 
had never been heard, and where vehicles of any 
kind are unknown, a railway terminus was estab- 
lished, and the railroad was seen to boldly scale 
the heights of the almost inaccessible Mount Rigi 
— The Vitznau-Rigi Railway. 



MOUNT RIGI. 

The situation of Vitznau is of unique beauty, 
especially as seen from the steamboat. The steep 
and threatening Vitznauer stock, one of the shape- 
liest satellites of the Rigi, the savage gorge de- 
scending from the red cliffs near the summit, the 
Burgeiistock across the lake, and ^above the near 
headland the Buechserhorn and the Brisen ; these, 



244 MOUNT RIGI. 

together with the village and its idyllic surround- 
ings, form a landscape of such surpassing loveli- 
ness, that one may well repeat with inward emo- 
tion the inscription carved above the portal of the 
village church : Soli Deo Gloria ! 

We ascended Mount Rigi, which is nearly 
9,000 feet high, by a railroad which runs in cog 
wheels, consisting of one coach and two engines, 
the one shoving from the rear and the other pul- 
ling in front. In ascending there are several 
stations at which the train stops. The view from 
its summit is one of the most extensive in the 
Alps, embracing most of East and North Switzer- 
land and the Jura Mountains. There are numer- 
ous hotels along the track, which attract annually 
as many as 40,000 visitors. This railway, up to 
Rigi Kulm, was completed in 1873. Being up 
on the top of Mount Rigi, we threw snow-balls. 
This was the 31st of May. After we had re- 
mained on the top for about one hour we again 
descended by the same way, and took the boat 
again at Vitznau for Lucerne. After we had 
eaten supper here our pilgrims took the night 
express train for Bale and Paris, and here boarded 
another, which carried them to Havre, where they 
boarded a Hamburg-American steamer and re- 



MARIA EINSIEDELN. 245 

turned to New York. Rt. Rev. Bishops 
Wigger, Rademacher, myself and a few more re- 
mained at Lucerne, and afterwards traveled into 
Germany. 

The next day, June 1st, early in the morning, 
I took the train for Maria Einsiedeln. 

MARIA EINSIEDELN. 

I arrived at Maria Einsiedeln about eleven 
o'clock in the morning, the distance being forty 
miles. It is located south-east of Zurich, and has 
a population of about 8,000. When I came to 
the Benedictine Abbey I immediately called upon 
Father Chrysostom Foffa, O. S. B., who was my 
pastor when I w T as a little boy, at Fulda, Spencer 
County, Indiana ; he was for many years professor 
at St. Meinrad's College, in Indiana, and pastor in 
different large congregations. He also worked 
with great success for many years among the In- 
dians of Dakota. At present he is professor in 
the Benedictine Abbey at Einsiedeln, and con 
fessor for the English-speaking people who visit 
Maria Einsiedeln ; he was very much surprised 
and glad to see me. On this account I was 
treated royally and immediately taken to the Rt. 



246 MARIA BINSIKDKIvN. 

Rev. Abbot Basilius Oberholzer, who received me 
very friendly and asked many questions about 
our pilgrimage to Palestine. After dinner I was 
kindly shown a room. The Abbot of Einsiedeln 
stands direct under the Pope. 

At about one o'clock P. M. a thousand pil- 
grims arrived, who were mostly men from the 
neighboring towns and villages. About seven 
o'clock in the evening they all came out of the 
world-renowned church, all having lighted candles 
in their hands and singing and praying aloud ; 
they marched in procession through the woods to 
the Statue of St. Meinrad. These thousand 
lights shining through the woods in the dark was a 
magnificent aspect. When they returned they re- 
entered the church and remained therein until 
about nine o'clock. When I came into the 
church at an early hour the next morning, which 
was Sunday, it was crowded with people. After 
about ten o'clock I had the happiness to say Mass 
in the Holy Chapel called the Gnaden Kapelle, 
There are annually 150,00 or more pilgrims from 
Switzerland, Germany and Italy, who visit Maria 
Einsiedeln. The thousandth anniversary of the 
death of St. Meinrad was celebrated in 1861 with 
great pomp, and upon which occasion 210,000 



MARIA EINSIEDELN. 247 

pilgrims came to Einsiedeln. Adjoining the vil- 
lage is the famous Benedictine Abbey, founded 
about the year 900, on the spot where St. Mein- 
rad was murdered. 

The present church, built in modern Italian 
style, and which dates back from 1719, contains 
a museum and a library of over 30,000 volumes ; 
in one wing of the church is the penitentiary 
with nineteen confessionals, where confessions in 
the different languages are heard. I was kindly 
taken through the monastery. The next morn- 
ing Father Durwald, one of our pilgrims, also 
came to Einsiedeln, so in the afternoon he and I 
left Einsiedeln and returned to Lucerne, where 
we arrived late in the evening. 

The next morning at five o'clock I had my 
trunk taken to the depot, where I bought my 
ticket for Basel. Before I left Lucerne my 
trunk was weighed and I had to pay forty cents ; 
then, instead of giving me a check, they pasted a 
label on my trunk. This was repeated at every 
station where I purchased a ticket ; sometimes 
the label was of a yellow, then red, blue, green, 
white, and, in fact, every conceivable color 
was brought into* effect, so that by the time 
I arrived at Hamburg my trunk was quite 



248 BASKIy. 

ornamented, and the bruises it got on those 
donkeys in Egypt and Palestine were entirely in- 
visible. 

BASEL. 

The City of Basel is situated on the Rhine, 
forty-five miles north-east of Bern, and is the cap- 
ital of the canton. It has a population of about 
50,000. The city is surrounded by fortifications, 
which, however, are not very important. The 
Canton of Basel is bounded by Alsace, Baden, 
and the Cantons Aargana, Soloturn and Bern. 

The chains of the Jura descend here into the 
Plains of the Rhine. At Basel I had to pass 
through the custom-house, but they were not 
very strict; in fact, the custom-house officials did 
not have much time, as my train for Strasburg 
arrived shortly afterward. They asked me 
what I had in my trunk so I told them I had 
my clothes and a few little articles which I 
had purchased on my trip. They believed me, 
and I was very glad of it. I then bought my 
ticket and boarded the next train for Strasburg. 



STRASBURG. 



249 



STRASBURG. 

About two hours afterwards I arrived at Stras- 
burg. Here I had to undergo another examina- 
tion at the custom-house. Strasburg is the cap- 
ital of Alsace, Lorraine. It is a city of Germany, 
and located on the 111. a tributary of the Rhine ; 
Strasburg is ninety miles south-west of Frank- 
fort, and 2 50 miles east by south of Paris, and it 
has a population of about 130,000. It is situ- 
ated on level ground and is more than seven 
miles in circumference, and is defended by a 
wall with bastions and a strong citadel. Oppo- 
site Kehl, the Rhine is crossed by a bridge. The 
111 flows through the city, and is crossed hy sev- 
eral wooden bridges. 

Strasburg has several fine squares ; its streets 
are generally narrow, but the principal ones are 
wide. The houses in Strasburg have steep roofs, 
but are lofty and well-built. 

Its celebrated cathedral, called the Strasburger 
Minister, is one of the finest Gothic churches in 
Europe. In 1870 it was considerably damaged, 
but afterwards restored. The famous astronomical 
clock, made by Isaac Habrecht, in 1570, is one 



250 STRASBURG. 

of the greatest works of its kind. I saw the 
twelve Apostles come out, which takes place 
twice daily, at twelve o'clock noon and twelve 
o'clock at night; this is wonderful mechanism. 
This cathedral is remarkable for its spire, which 
is an open fretwork of stones, bound together by 
iron ties, and has a height of 468 feet. In 1439 
the tower was completed, but the cathedral was 
to have a second one which is still unfinished, 
and therefore mars the effect somewhat. When 
in 1870 the city was besieged by the Germans, 
the cathedral was somewhat injured by shells and 
other projectiles. The cathedral has no pews, 
but instead of these there are hundreds of chairs 
piled one above the other, along the wall inside 
of the nave of the church. 

I next went on through Lauterburg to 
Rheinzabern, near Germersheim, to my reverend 
uncle, with whom I stopped about two weeks. 
During this time I went to Karlsruhe where the 
Grand Duke of ,Baderi resides, and through whose 
palace I was conducted. 

Karlsruhe is the capital of the Grand Duchy 
of Baden, eighteen miles north-east of Baden- 
Baden, and has a population of about 45,000. 
From here I went to Baden-Baden, which is a 



SPKYKR. 251 

famous watering place of the Grand Duchy of 
Baden, situated at the foot of the Black Forest on 
the Vos. Baden-Baden is eighteen miles south- 
west of Karlsruhe, and has a population of about 
15,000. There are about twenty-five hot springs 
which flow from the rock at the foot of the castle 
terrace, the waters of which are conducted in 
pipes to the different baths throughout the town; 
the temperature varies from 1 15 to 154 Fahren- 
heit. The best season for visitors, whose num- 
ber annually exceeds 60,000, is in July and 
August. It has several public baths and numer- 
ous good hotels. Its surroundings are beautiful 
and romantic. 

From here I returned to Strasburg, where on 
Pentecost Sunday I said Mass in the Cathedral. 

SPEYER. 

In the evening I returned to my uncle and 
the next day went to Speyer, a town of Bavaria 
with a population of about 18,000. It is situated 
six miles north-east of Landau. It has a beau- 
tiful cathedral, which is remarkable for its size 
and antiquity. In the year 1689 the French 
damaged it, but it has been restored since then 



252 MUNICH. 

with great splendor; it contains the tombs of 
eight emperors, beneath the church in a basement 
amongst which is that of Rudolph of Hapsburg. 
The town became of great importance as the 
ordinary residence of the emperor of Germany 
and the seat of the Supreme Court of Appeal. 
It was laid in ashes May 31, 1689, by the French, 
but rebuilt in 1699, but it never recovered its for- 
mer prosperity. It is one of the oldest bishop- 
rics in Germany, and long enjoyed the rights of 
sovereignty. 

From here I went to Germersheim, Pirmasens, 
Fehrbach, the birthplace of my mother, and to 
Hohfroschen into the house in which I was born, 
to Neustadt, Landau, Zweibriicken, and back 
again to my uncle at Rheinzabern. Then I again 
went to Speyer, from where I went to 

MUNICH. 

I left Speyer about ten o'clock A. M., and at 
about eight o'clock in the evening came to Stutt- 
gart, the capital of the Kingdom of Wiirtemberg. 
At eleven o'clock the same night I arrived at 
Munich. 

The next day, wdien I passed through the 



MUNICH. 253 

streets of the city, I noticed large piles of boards 
laying in different streets. Presently I met one of 
the local priests, and inquired of him what was to 
be done with so many boards. He replied that they 
would be laid in the streets where the Corpus 
Christi procession would pass. The next day 
being Corpus Christi day, I left my hotel early 
and repaired to the cathedral, which is called 
"Frauenkirche" where I contemplated saying 
Mass. Even at this early hour the streets were 
crowded, and as I drew near the cathedral, I 
found the streets literally blockaded with people. 
Here a policeman told me that any attempts to 
enter the church would be fruitless at that time. 
It required no argument on his part to convince 
me that he had spoken the truth, and much disap- 
pointed, I retreated to a hotel at the nearest cor- 
ner, and took breakfast. I then asked one of the 
waiters for permission to remain at one of the 
windows facing the entrance of the cathedral, in 
order that I might observe the procession, to 
which he assented. Here I had a nice opportun- 
ity to review this magnificent procession, the 
largest I had ever seen. The boards which I saw 
the day previous, were laid along the streets 
through which the procession passed, from the 



254 MUNICH. 

cathedral on, over their entire route ; not length- 
wise but across the streets. In front of the 
cathedral in the open square, several hundred 
soldiers were mounted on horseback. In the 
procession over one hundred banners were dis- 
played. Several hundred sisters and students, 
the majority of the inhabitants (Munich being 
almost an entirely catholic city), and nearly all 
the city officers participated; even four or six 
protestant ministers were obliged to take part, 
nolens volens. The Blessed Sacrament was car- 
ried by the Archbishop of Munich ; right behind 
him, under the baldachim walked the Prince 
Regent, Iyuitpold of Bavaria, holding his cap in 
hand. When the procession returned, I also fol- 
lowed up into the church. After Benediction 
with the Blessed Sacrament had been given, the 
archbishop escorted the Prince Regent from the 
church, after which many Masses were said by 
those priests who lacked the time or opportunity 
to do so before. 

Munich is the capital of Bavaria on the Isar, 
on an extensive plain, thirty-three miles south- 
east of Augsburg, 290 miles south-west of Berlin, 
and 220 miles west of Vienna. It has about 
200,000 inhabitants. Munich is noted for its 



MUNICH. 255 

architectural splendor, its university, and admir- 
able institutions of art. The river Isar is spanned 
by four bridges; the Isar bridge is the largest, but 
the Maximilia the finest, Munich has 275 streets. 
The streets in the old town are irregular but 
wide. The I^udwig and Maximilian are the most 
renowned in the new city, which contains the 
most remarkable public buildings. Among the 
twenty squares Max-Joseph is the largest ; other 
attractive streets are the Maximilian, Karl and 
prominade square " * Carolinenplatz? i Kdnigsplatz\ 
and the 1 Hofgarten." Munich has over twenty 
catholic churches. The Gothic cathedral, has 
two lofty dome-capped towers. St. Cajetan's con- 
tains the tombs of the royal family. The Ail 
Saints' Chapel or " ' Hofkapelle" has columns of red 
Tyrolese marble, with gilded capitals and white 
bases ; above the aisles it is incrusted with col- 
ored marble, and the rest is frescoed upon a 
golden back-ground. In the " Ludwig r skirche" 
are colossal statues of Sts. Peter and Paul, and 
of the "L,ast Judgment" which is about sixty 
feet in height. 

The Old Catholic movement has its centre 
here. Munich has about 6,000 Protestants, and 
one Jewish synagogue. Its celebrated university 



256 MUNICH. 

named ^ Ludwig-Maximilian" which was founded 
in Ingolstadt was removed to Munich in 1826, 
and attained world-wide celebrity during the reign 
of Maximilian II. It has several thousand stu- 
dents, over 113 professors, one of whom was the 
Dr. Ignaz Dollinger, who died at Munich, Jan- 
uary 10th, 1890. 

The principal royal residences are the Wittels- 
bach palace, and that of prince Max. I was 
shown through this one, also that of Prince IyUit- 
pold. I also went through the Bavarian National 
Museum, which is 500 feet long, and ninety-five 
feet high and contains varied and interesting 
collections pertaining to Bavarian antiquities. 
The most conspicuous monument of Munich is 
the ^Ruhmeshalle" (hall of fame); Goethe, Schil- 
ler, Gluck and many other great men are hon- 
ored by splendid monuments in the streets and 
squares of Munich. 

The name Munich originates from a settle- 
ment of monks (Monc/ie) consequently its name. 
The king of Bavaria had also a colossal statue 
called "Bavaria" placed in Munich to perpetuate 
Bavaria's fame, in the head of which five persons 
can easily stand. I devoted a small portion of 
my time to visiting this place. At the season of 



NUREMBERG. 257 

the year when I was there, a glass of the justly 
celebrated "Miinchener" beer, (which is adjudged 
the finest in the world), is a very tempting bev- 
erage, which is here very plentiful. A great 
resort, for the beer-drinking public in particular, 
is the " ' Lowenbrau Keller." 

I left Munich for Nuremberg on the morning 
of June the 21st. 

NUREMBERG. 

. After I had left Munich for about three hours, 
I came to Ingolstadt, a fortified town of Upper 
Bavaria, on the left bank of the Danube. At 
about eleven o'clock the same forenoon I came to 
Nuremberg (German Niirnberg;, in the district 
of Middle Franconia, on the Ludwig's Canal, 
ninety-two miles north by west of Munich. It 
has about 100,000 inhabitants. 

The River Pegnitz, on which the city lies, forms 
three islands that are connected with each other 
and the city by bridges. B}' this river the city is 
divided into two unequal parts ; the southern is 
called the Lorenzer side and the northern the 
Sebalder side. The general appearance of the 
city is very antique. Nearly every modern build- 

18 



258 WUERZBKRG. 

ing is built in medieaval style. It has only two 
Catholic churches : the one, Frauenkirche, is re- 
markable for its richly ornamented Gothic portal. 
The city has several elegant public fountains : 
one 011 the Hauptmarkt, the principal square, is 
called der schdne Brunne?i ; another is the Ganse- 
inarkt, remarkable for the immense number of 
geese which are here offered for sale ; it has also 
an interesting fountain called Gansemannchen. 

Watches were first made here, and were long 
known as Nuremberg eggs. It is renowned for 
its industrial activity, especially in lead pencils 
and looking-glass plates. It is also famous for 
manufacturing toys, and is one of the principal 
hop markets of Europe. An active trade with 
the United States is carried on. 

In the afternoon about four o'clock . I boarded 
the train for Wiirzburg. 

WUERZBURG. 

I arrived here about nine o'clock in the even- 
ing. It is the capital of Lower Franconia, on the 
right bank of the Main, which is spanned by a 
large stone bridge, over 600 feet long and of eight 
arches, with statues of saints. It is 140 miles 



WUERZBURG. 259 

north-west of Munich, and has a population of 
about 70,000. The inhabitants are nearly all 
Catholics. It has fine streets and promenades, 
although the streets are somewhat irregular. The 
Episcopal Palace is magnificent. The principal 
churches are : the cathedral, containing the Schdn- 
born chapel and monuments of bishops; the 
Marienkapelle and the Stifthaug, built after St. 
Peter's with an imposing cupola. It has also a 
renowned and large university, founded in 1403 
by Bishop Johann von Eglofstein. 

Wiirzburg lies low. Here I heard the nicest 
ringing of bells I had ever heard. During my 
stay in Bavaria the church bells had to ring from 
twelve to one o'clock every day for a month, on 
account of the death of the mother of the king. 
Wiirzburg is known for the nice ringing of its 
bells. The King of Bavaria has here a magnifi- 
cent palace, through which I was taken. It was 
built by the bishops of Wiirzburg. In this place 
there is one hall which is 600 feet long; one room 
is specially noteworthy ; it is called das Spiegel- 
zimmer, and is said to have cost two millions of 
German Gulden, Near the city, on St. Nicolaus 
Mountain, is a splendid pilgrimage church called 
Kapelle, which I also went to see. Going up is 



260 FRANKFORT— ON— THK - MAIN . 

the Way of the Cross — fourteen massive chapels 
built of stone. Around the city a great deal of 
wine and fruit is raised. Wiirzberg dates from the 
sixthcentury. St. Kilian is said to have preached 
the gospel here as early as the year 688. 

About two o'clock P. M. the next day I took 
the train for Frankfort-on-the-Main. 

FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN. 

I arrived here at seven o'clock in the evening 
of June 2 2d. This city is in the Prussian pro- 
vince of Hesse-Nassau, situated in a fertile valley 
on the right bank of the River Main, twenty 
miles aboye its confluence with the River Rhine. 
It is 255 miles south-west of Berlin, and has a 
population of about 150,000. The finest street is 
the Zeil, which was afterwards united with the 
Neue Krdme. Among the most remarkable pub- 
lic squares are the Rossmarkt, which has a 
monument in honor of the art of printing 5 
the Goethe Square with a grand statue of the 
poet, by Schwanthaler, who was born here, and 
Schiller Square, and his statue, and the "Rdmer- 
berg" On this latter is the ^Romer" or council 
house in which the German emperors were elec- 



MKNTZ (GKR. MAINZ.) 26 1 

ted, and in its " Kaiser saal" were entertained. 
On its walls hang the portraits of the emperors. 
The principal business streets, are the "Fakr- 
gasse" and u Schnur gassed among the fine streets 
are the avenues near the gates of the city and the 
"Schdne Aussicht." 

Frankfort is surrounded by promenades and 
they are indeed among the finest pleasure grounds 
in Europe. It has one of the best theatres in 
Germany. The chief local manufactures are car- 
pets, table covers, jewelry, playing cards, oil 
cloth and tobacco. It has also a very extensive 
and interesting Zoological garden which I visited. 

The next day at one o'clock I boarded the 
train for Mentz. 

MENTZ (GER. MAINZ.) 

Here I arrived at about two oclock in the 
afternoon. Mentz is a fortified city of Germany 
and the capital of Rhenish Hesse, on the left 
bank of the Rhine, nearly opposite its junction 
with the Main. It is twenty miles south-west 
of Frankfort, and has a population of about 
70,000. It is connected with the village of Castel 
on the opposite bank of the Rhine, by a pontoon 



262 



THK RHINE. 



bridge, 1,700 feet long. It has also a very expen- 
sive railroad bridge finished in 1864, which con- 
nects it with the opposite side of the Main. The 
town, looked at from the river, has the appearance 
of an amphitheatre. Its houses are lofty, but its 
streets confined and narrow. The city has eleven 
churches, 

Mentz is one of the chief centres of the Cath- 
olic Societies of Germany. It has also a very 
elegant Cathedral. The trade of Mentz up and 
down the Rhine and the Main is immense. Al- 
ready during the time of St. Boniface it became 
the seat of an archbishop. 

The next morning at ten o'clock I took the 
boat "Adolph" on the Rhine for Cologne. 

THE RHINE. 

One of Europe's principal rivers is the Rhine, 
which has its source in the Swiss Canton of Gri- 
sons, and flows into the North Sea in Holland, 
It generally flows north-west, and is about 800 
miles long. It is divided into three parts, the 
Upper, Middle, and Lower: the first part lies 
within and along the line of Switzerland; the 
second, between Basel and Cologne; and the 



THK RHINE. 263 

third, between Cologne and the sea. It is joined 
at Dissentes by the Middle Rhine from the right; 
it then flows generally in an east by north direc- 
tion about thirty-six miles to Reichenau, where it 
is about 180 feet wide, and navigable for boats. 
It afterwards flows in a northerly direction to the 
Lake of Constance, past Constance. It takes 
a westerly direction for some distance, until it 
enters the Falls of Schaffhausen. From the Lake 
of Constance to Basel it reaches its boundary line 
between Baden and Switzerland. At Basel, w T here 
the Middle Rhine begins, it changes its course in 
a northerly direction ; it flows for about 200 miles 
to Mentz, along a valley, thirty to fifty miles wide, 
extending on the east between the Black Forest, 
and on the west between the Hardt Mountains, 
which form the boundary of Baden and Alsace, 
and Baden and Rhenish Bavaria. Between Stras- 
burg and Metz the Rhine is navigable for boats of 
about 100 tons burden. Between Mentz and Co- 
logne, which is a distance of 120 miles, the course 
of the river is west ; afterwards north-west. Near 
Coblentz it enters the Prussian Rhine Province. 
This part of the river runs between tw 7 o moun- 
tain regions ; here the river is so narrow as to 
hardly allow passage for a boat. 



.264 COLOGNE. 

The wine raised in the extensive vineyards in 
this neighborhood, is known as Rhenish w 7 ine. 
From Cologne to its mouth, a distance of 300 
miles, the Lower Rhine flows through a low coun- 
try and near its east bank the hills of Sauerland 
between Cologne and Diisseldorf. From Wesel 
to the frontiers of Holland its course is north- 
west. After having entered Holland, the Rhine 
branches off into two arms ; the one to the north 
retains its name, the other to the south, is called 
Waal. 

COLOGNE. 

At Mentz, as stated above, I took the boat 
down to Cologne, which is the finest passage on 
the entire Rhine. As soon as we came in sight 
of the beautiful city of Cologne all the passen- 
gers left their seats, and comments on the world- 
renowned Dome of Cologne, were pleasantly in- 
dulged in. This Dome v majestically overlooks 
the entire city, and can be seen for miles and 
miles before reaching the city. We arrived at 
Cologne in the evening about six o'clock. 

Cologne is the capital of the Rhenish province 
and is situated on the left bnnk of the Rhine; it 



COLOGNE. 265 

is thirty-eight miles north-east of Aix-la-Chapelle. 
It numbers over 200,000 inhabitants, who are 
mostly Catholics. Opposite Cologne is the city 
of Deutz, which is connected with Cologne by a 
pontoon bridge, and also an iron railway bridge 
1,352 feet long. Cologne forms a semi-circle rest- 
ing upon the Rhein and is protected by forts. 
Its streets are mostly narrow. 

THE CATHEDRAL. 

The pride of Cologne is that remarkable 
structure, the Cathedral. This is the largest speci- 
men of Gothic architecture in the world ; it is 
511 feet long, and 231 feet wide; its towers are 
also 511 feet high. This cathedral was begun 
about the middle of the thirteenth century. The 
first stone of the transept was laid in 1842 by 
Frederick William IV. Outside it has a double 
range of flying buttresses and intervening piers ; 
it is a perfect forest of pinnacles. The govern- 
ment contributed a large sum towards its comple- 
tion ; money was also raised by private subscrip- 
tion, and b}^ the "Dombauverein" which had 
branches throughout Europe. In this cathedral 
is also a beautiful monument dedicated to the 
three Holy Kings, of whom some bones are here 



266 



HAMBURG. 



deposited. During my stay at Cologne I said 
Mass in the Dome. 

In 1848 its nave, aisles and transept were con- 
secrated. The other most important churches of 
Cologne are : St. Gereon, St. Peter and St. Ursula; 
that of the Apostles is the finest of those latter 
named. 

In 1794 Cologne fell into the hands of the 
French, but in 18 14 it was restored to Prussia. 
Cologne is connected by railroads, with all the 
principal cities of the continent. 

I left Cologne on June 26, taking the six 
o'clock A. M., train for Hamburg. 

HAMBURG. 

After having stopped at Bremen three hours, 
I reached Hamburg at about eight o'clock P. M. 

Hamburg is on the north bank of the Elbe, at 
the mouth of the Alster, sixty miles north-east of 
Bremen. The Alster, a tributary of the Elbe, 
flows through the city ; there are also numerous 
canals that interesect the city. A magnificent 
bridge, completed in 1872, crosses the Elbe, and 
sixty other bridges span the rivers and canals. 
Hamburg is in connection, by railway, with the 



HAMBURG. 267 

leading German cities, and by steamship with 
the principal ports of Europe, and with New 
York, New Orleans, Havana and Brazil. It has 
400,000 inhabitants. There are only two Catho- 
lic churches. Hamburg is one of the largest 
harbors of Europe, it ranking next to Liverpool. 

Sunday morning at nine o'clock, June 30th, I 
left Hamburg. At the dock I met, to my great 
surprise, Mr. John Hoebing, one of our pilgrims, 
who also was destined for New York. In a small 
boat we were taken out about two hours and put 
on the steamer " Moravia," of the Hamburg- 
American Company. At twelve o'clock the 
steamer started. Tuesday at four o'clock A. M. 
we came near Havre ; here our steamer had to 
stop on account of the tide until twelve o'clock, 
when it had risen somewhat ; a small boat pulled 
our steamer into Havre. All afternoon they 
loaded freight and coal, so we stopped off and 
went into the city. At twelve o'clock at night 
the steamer started again and we had a good 
voyage on the Atlantic. I felt much better the 
whole time than I did, while writing this history, 
although some of the passengers that were on 
the ocean for the first time complained of being 
sea-sick. Saturday, July 13th, we came to New 



268 



HAMBURG. 



York, and it being late in the evening we did not 
land until the next morning. 

This, now, my dear reader, ends the history 
of the First American Catholic Pilgrimage to 
Palestine and my six months' trip. I here also 
can say with the Psalmist : 

" Non nobis, Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo 
gloriam. 



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